Citizens
For Legitimate Governmentis a multi-partisan
activist group established to expose the Bush
coup d'etat, and to oppose the Bush
occupation in all of its manifestations.

July
2003 Archives

Bush
had "faith-based" intelligence on Iraq: arms expert
The longer the United States and its allies fail to find chemical, biological
or nuclear weapons in Iraq, the more difficult it will become for the
US dictatorship to shrug off accusations that officials knowingly stretched
intelligence data, according to experts.

CIA
Asked Britain To Drop Iraq ClaimAdvice
on Alleged Uranium Buy Was Refused --The CIA tried unsuccessfully
in early September 2002 to persuade the British government to drop from
an official intelligence paper a reference to Iraqi attempts to buy
uranium in Africa that Dictator Bush included in his State of the Union
address four months later, senior Bush regime officials said yesterday.

Bush:
Agencies Cleared Uranium Misstatements[lies] National security adviser also says the CIA signed off
on all Iraq weapons claims in the dictator's speech. Dictator Bush and
his national security adviser today placed full responsibility on the
Central Intelligence Agency for the inclusion in this year's State of
the Union address of an erroneous allegation that Iraq's Saddam Hussein
was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa.

Bush
and Rice Say C.I.A. Approved Uranium Comment
Dictator Bush said today that intelligence agencies had approved the
assertion he made in his State of the Union address that Iraq had tried
to buy nuclear material from Africa... Mr. Bush made his comments not
long after his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said that
the Central Intelligence Agency had "cleared the speech in his
entirety.''

Democrats
uniting behind criticism of Bush on Iraq
Two Democratic presidential candidates seized on the Bush regime’s admissions
that the U.S. presence in Iraq could be longer and costlier than expected
to accuse Dictator Bush of misleading the public Thursday, signaling
that Democrats could be uniting behind an issue that until now had caused
the sharpest divisions among the dictator’s challengers.

Kerry
Raps Bush Policy on Postwar IraqFailure
to Win Peace Could Undercut War on Terrorism, Candidate Says --Sen.
John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) sharply criticized the Bush dictatorship's postwar
policy in Iraq yesterday, accusing the United States of arrogance in
not creating an international force to secure the country and warning
that failure in Iraq will undermine the global war on terrorism.

It's Time for the TruthDean
Says Those In Administration Who Mislead Nation Should Resign
(Dean
for America Press Release) "Former Vermont Governor Howard
Dean issued the following statement today: 'Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld's
statement yesterday - that he only found out that the Niger documents
were forgeries -- 'within recent days' was stunning. 'What is now clear
is that there are those in this administration that misled the President
[sic], misled the nation, and misled the world in making the case for
the war in Iraq. 'They know who they are. And they should resign
today.'" [*Petition
to sign on to Governor Dean's statement]

Uranium
fallout grows curiouser and curiouser
--by John Hall "The current trans-Atlantic controversy over a bogus
statement that crept into President [sic] Bush's State of the Union
message doesn't deal just with mistakes, oversights or even hype by
an overly zealous staff. We have here forged documents... The CIA, according
to the panel, let the British know about the forgery but apparently
too late to prevent Blair from publicizing it. Then the CIA forgot to
tell the president [sic], and he publicized it again. Puzzling. Very
odd, indeed."

White
House Admits Information Justifying Invasion Was False
--by Nicholas F. Benton "Now, let’s see. Let’s get this straight.
The U.S. spearheaded an unprovoked invasion and subsequent occupation
of Iraq, at a cost of hundreds of brave U.S. soldiers’ lives (and the
number still rises), the loss of many more innocent lives in Iraq that
died in the 9/11 attacks, and with a price of $90 billion to be paid
by U.S. taxpayers. And it was all provoked by a falsehood delivered
by the President [sic] of the United States during his State of the
Union message last January."

PM
sorry for relying on Iraq lies
International spy agencies consistently recorded doubts about claims
that Iraq sought uranium from Africa for more than a year before John
Howard used the now discredited intelligence in his case for war. The
Prime Minister conceded yesterday the intelligence suggesting Iraq tried
to buy yellowcake from Niger was fraudulent,
but said "anything that I have said that might be seen as misleading
was not a deliberate misleading".

U.S.
troops withdraw from Fallujah mayor's office and disputed police station
For the first time since U.S. forces captured Fallujah three months
ago, American soldiers withdrew from the town mayor's office
Friday, a police official told The Associated Press. U.S. troops also
left a police station in this tense western town after Iraqi officers
complained the American presence was putting local police at risk.

The
war is far from over, claims British officer
One of the most senior British officers in Iraq has admitted that war
is far from over - and blamed Iranian interference for creating
problems for U.S.-U.K. occupation forces in the south of the country.

War's
Cost Brings Democratic Anger
The Pentagon's new estimate that military costs for Iraq would average
$3.9 billion monthly for the first
nine months of this year produced surprise and anger today among Congressional
Democrats, who said the amount was not only more than they had been
told, but far too large given the [Bush-created] budget deficit.

Editorial:
Mission creep (Concord
Monitor) "If only the peace in Iraq had gone as well as the war.
Iraq is not Vietnam redux. But the situation appears to be sliding into
a quagmire while most of America's allies watch. Yesterday brought word
of more attacks on U.S. forces. At least seven soldiers were injured
in the guerrilla fighting that has claimed 29 American lives since May
1, when President [sic] Bush declared the war won..."

U.S.
Working on Iraq Cellphone Plans, Official SaysThe
U.S.-led dictatorship in Iraq is working on plans for a new cellphone
network[?!?] and has not decided which of two rival technologies
to use, an Iraqi official said on Thursday. [Holy lunacy, Batman!!
The Iraqi people don't have drinking water or electricity, but they
will soon be able to call their friends to talk about it. -ed.]

M-16s
Jammed During Ambush in Iraq
Unreleased Army Report Cites Weapons Malfunctions, Desert Conditions
--When Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch's lost maintenance company was ambushed
in Nasiriyah, Iraq, on March 23, many of the unit's soldiers were unable
to defend themselves because their weapons malfunctioned, according
to an Army report.

Turkey:
USA Must Punish Perpetrators
Shockwaves following the US' detention of eleven Turkish soldiers and
civilians in Northern Iraq last Friday are still being felt. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called US Vice pResident Dick Cheney, demanding
that the responsible parties be identified and that action be taken
against them as soon as possible.

Judge
says 'stick to the issues'
(AK) Defense attorney Wayne Anthony Ross became visibly upset Wednesday
as his repeated attempts to get at the mind-set of protesters were thwarted
during the first day of the Jeff Webster trial in Kenai District Court.
Webster is charged with two counts of harassment, one count of fourth-degree
assault and two counts of interfering with the constitutional rights
of demonstrators, based on incidents in which he supposedly doused
peace demonstrators with buckets of water in March and April at
the Soldotna "Y."

The
net worth of rich Americans
As Dictator Bush tours Africa, an American economist has come up with
a staggering fact: the four-hundred richest Americans earn more together
than all 166 million people who live in four of the countries on the
presidential [sic] itinerary.

Handouts
from the slavemaster --by
Paul Valley "Unlikely converts to the George Bush fan club, including
ace bullshit detector Sir Bob Geldof, are saying they detect 'the beginnings
of a historic change towards Africa'. So why am I suspicious? In part
because even with the increases, America is still the world's stingiest
donor, giving only 0.12 per cent of its national income to aid - less
than a third of the EU's percentage. The whole of Africa still gets
less American aid than Israel and Egypt."

Man
Breaches Bush Security
Demonstrator sneaks onto White House press plane in South Africa. The
Secret Service today reported an unusual security breach on Dictator
Bush's Africa trip, as a demonstrator seeking access to Bush managed
to sneak aboard the White House press charter from Pretoria to Uganda.

Bush
and Blair to Meet on July 17
Dictator Bush and British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair, both facing
criticism over their justification for invading Iraq, will meet in Washington
on July 17, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Blair
tells Bush: Send the British al-Qaeda suspects back for trial
Tony Blair is to press for the repatriation of the two British al-Qaeda
suspects held at Guantanamo Bay when he meets George Bush next week,
in an effort to defuse the most serious transatlantic rift since the
end of the Iraq war. The Prime Minister will raise the issue personally
with the United States dictator in Washington, Downing Street said yesterday.

The
UK businessmen trapped in Guantanamo
Arrested in Gambia, interrogated in Afghanistan, abandoned in Cuba --The
British government is facing claims that it has abandoned two London
businessmen jailed without charge by the US at Guantanamo Bay.

America
sets itself up for another Sept. 11
(The Daily Star) "From Vietnam to Somalia, the American experience
has been a series of disasters for both the peoples they have allegedly
tried to help and the unfortunate young men whose fate it was to be
at the tip of Uncle Sam’s sword... The Afghan government has no authority
outside Kabul, and even there President Hamid Karzai is regarded as
an American puppet. Iraq has no government at all and is faring little
better in terms of basic services like electricity and drinking water.
In both countries the Americans become more unpopular with each passing
day."

Terror
Tort Reform Without
fanfare, the White House is pushing legislation to cap awards to victims
of terrorism. Plus, did the CIA watch a key 9-11 plotter plan
the strikes? The Bush dictatorship, alarmed about a rash of lawsuits
over international acts of terrorism, is pushing a controversial
plan that would set up a new federally funded "compensation
fund" for the victims—with sharp limits on how much they can recover...
Was master terrorist Khalid Shaikh Mohammed at an Al Qaeda "planning"
summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in January 2000 that was being secretly
monitored by the Malaysian secret services—all under the watchful eyes
of CIA?

Al-Qaida
called Sept 11 attacks 'Operation Holy Tuesday'
The September 11 attacks were given the code name "Operation Holy Tuesday"
and precisely planned at an al-Qaida meeting in Malaysia. The purpose
of the three day secret conference in January 2000, which was monitored
by Malaysian police at the CIA's request, was to discuss details of
how the hijackers should train and hide in the US and how the attacks
should be carried out.

Secret
aid poured into Colombian drug warContinuing
human rights abuses have not hindered flow of equipment and advice to
Bogota --Britain is secretly stepping up military assistance
to Colombia as the war on drug trafficking becomes increasingly
entangled in the effort to defeat leftwing resistance fighters and drive
them back to the negotiating table.

House
Votes to Allow 'Overhaul' of Overtime
The House narrowly voted yesterday to let the Bush dictatorship overhaul
50-year-old rules governing workplace overtime, a move that would penalize
many middle- and upper-income employees. The 213 to 210 vote killed
a Democratic-led effort to prevent the Labor Department from redefining
who qualifies for overtime pay.

Verizon
Ordered to Rehire 2,300 Workers
An arbitrator has ordered Verizon Communications Inc. to rehire 2,300
people in New York state who were laid off in December, striking a blow
against the phone company's 'cost-cutting efforts' and racheting up
the tension already surrounding Verizon's talks on a new labor contract.

US
trade deficit widens The
US trade deficit remained near record levels in May at $41.84bn
(£25.6bn), as demand for foreign
oil pushed imports higher.

Fla.
May Fine GOP Figure for 2000 Recount Actions
As Florida's presidential recount raged in December 2000, a newly created
political group [coupmeisters] spent $150,000 attacking three
pro-Democratic state Supreme Court justices who threatened George W.
Bush's hopes for 'victory'. The committee's real organizer, the election
commission said, was veteran GOP political consultant Roger Stone, who
has been involved in major campaigns dating to Richard M. Nixon's administration.

Senators
wary of lawyer employed by state and GOP
(TX) State senators of both parties Thursday expressed concern that
the lawyer hired to defend a possible congressional redistricting
plan for the state also is working for a political committee founded
to increase Republican legislative representation.

Craddick
went too far in use of DPS, judge rules
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick overstepped his authority by dispatching
state troopers to search for Democratic state representatives who
bolted in May to kill a redistricting bill, a state district judge ruled
Thursday.

Nader,
Whom Democrats Saw as 2000 Spoiler, Ponders '04 Run
Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate whom Democrats blame for costing
Al Gore the last presidential s-election,
said today that he would decide later this year whether to seek the
White House again, as a Green Party candidate or an independent.

FDA
to Ease Food Labeling FDA
Eases Rules On Touting Food As Healthful --Food producers will be given
far more leeway to [lie and] make claims about the health benefits of
their products, the government said yesterday. Critics in Congress and
from some consumer groups charged that the plan, which will also apply
to dietary supplements, violates the law and would open the door
to confusing and dubious claims supported by weak or inconclusive scientific
evidence.

U.S.
report on 9/11 to be 'explosive'Government
errors, Saudi ties to terrorists among highlights --A long-awaited
final report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will be released in the
next two weeks, containing new information about U.S. government mistakes
and Saudi financing of terrorists. Former Rep. Tim Roemer, who served
on the House Intelligence Committee and who has read the report, said
it will be ''highly explosive''
when it becomes public. [*See:CLG
9/11 Investigation and "Oddities" Information Zone]

9/11
inquiry alleges witness intimidation
A US panel investigating the September 11 terrorist attacks yesterday
accused the Pentagon and the justice department of obstructing the inquiry
and said witnesses were being intimidated. Steven Push, whose wife died
on September 11 and who represents victims' families, said: "I believe
that there is stonewalling going on here." He added: "It's
beginning to look like some type of a cover-up."

Supreme
plotPalm Beach County
commissioner faces stiff fine over illegal fund-raising effort to oust
three state justices --In a case with national political implications,
the Florida Elections Commission has ruled that Palm Beach County Commissioner
Mary McCarty violated state campaign finance rules in working to oust
three Florida Supreme Court justices... At her hearing, McCarty testified
she was drafted into the presidential recount battle on the morning
after the Nov. 7 election meltdown in Florida. Top Republicans recruited
her to oversee the ballot recount in Palm Beach County, home of the
notorious butterfly ballot that confused many voters. Members of
the Bush-Cheney campaign "took up
residence in my office," she said.

Iraq
weapons 'unlikely to be found'
Senior figures inside Whitehall no longer believe weapons of mass destruction
are likely to turn up in Iraq, the BBC has learned [unless Rumsfeld
has them planted].

Scientist
named as BBC contactNew
twist in row over source for story on Iraq's banned weapons --A
former senior UN weapons inspector was named yesterday as the person
said by the Ministry of Defence to have had an "unauthorised" [?!?]
meeting with Andrew Gilligan, the BBC journalist at the centre of the
row over Iraq's banned weapons programme. ...Asked why the 45-minute
claim was put in, Dr David Kelly said "probably
for impact".

BBC
accuses No 10 of manipulation as Whitehall names source of dossier claimThe BBC, the Tory leader and American
Democrats heap pressure on Allied leaders over their case for going
to war --The identity of a Whitehall official who admitted attending
an "unauthorised" meeting with the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan was
revealed yesterday, deepening the corporation's dispute with the Government
over an Iraqi weapons dossier.

Experts
Accuse U.S. of Misrepresentation As Dictator Bush and Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld defended their invasion of Iraq, a group
of arms control experts accused the regime of misrepresenting intelligence
information to justify the war. When the war began in March, Iraq
posed no threat to the United States or to its neighbors, a former
senior State Department intelligence official said Wednesday.

Credibility
GapBush's use of faulty
data to justify invading Iraq could end up endangering U.S. security.
(Newsday) "President [sic] George W. Bush's credibility - a key
asset [?!? NOT! He stole the presidency in a coup d'etat!] of
his office - took a stinging blow this week when the White House admitted
that Bush should not have said in his State of the Union address that
Iraq was trying to obtain large quantities of uranium from the African
nation of Niger. Quite simply, it was not true... The damage to Bush's
presidency is already done. It matters little whether or not he was
misled or used bogus intelligence deliberately. He is responsible for
it."

Kerry
challenges Bush on Iraq
Pentagon: More than 1,000 troops wounded since war's start --Democratic
presidential contender Sen. John Kerry on Thursday urged Dictator Bush
"to tell the truth" to the American people about the war in Iraq,
saying the dictatorship has bungled the resulting U.S. occupation.

Chaos
in Iraq gives US a pretext to stay for ever"The
Americans," an Iraqi worker in Al-Rashid district told me, "drove
around in a Baghdad suburb announcing in a loudspeaker 'security for
us in return for electricity for you'". A later version was even
more conspiratorial. An Iraqi shop owner in A-Karrada district, on the
eastern bank of the Tigris, squatted on the pavement outside his shop
after giving up hope that his air conditioner would ever work again.
"The Americans are behind the power cuts
and the ensuing chaos," he said with a confident tone,
"because this will give them a pretext to stay in Iraq for ever."

Rumsfeld
Doubles Estimate for Cost of Troops in Iraq
Gen. Tommy R. Franks said today that violence and uncertainty in Iraq
made it unlikely that troop levels would be reduced "for the foreseeable
future," and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld nearly doubled the
estimated military costs there to $3.9 billion
a month.

Military
Operations in Iraq Cost Nearly $4 Billion a Month
The Pentagon is spending nearly $4 billion
a month in Iraq, a "burn rate" [?!?] that
is likely to continue far longer than the Bush dictatorship intended
due to ongoing attacks on U.S. forces, according to private and
government cost projections.

Bush
Says U.S. Must Remain Tough in Iraq
Pleading for patience, Dictator Bush said the United States will "have
to remain tough" in Iraq despite attacks on U.S. soldiers that killed
at least two more Americans on Thursday.

Families
live in fear of midnight call by US patrols
Never again did families in Baghdad imagine that they need fear
the midnight knock at the door. But in recent weeks there
have been increasing reports of Iraqi men, women and even children
being dragged from their homes at night by American patrols, or snatched
off the streets and taken, hooded and manacled, to prison
camps around the capital. [The Bush dictatorship's tactics
parallel those of Hitler's Waffen-SS.]

Palm
Bay man has eye for detail
Meteorologist's work featured in national weather magazine --On May
25, while scanning the Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
images pipelined into his desktop from 450 miles in orbit, Hank Brandli
skidded at a nighttime photo of Iraq...The most recent photo showed
a blazing corridor of light running the length of Kuwait, south
to north, all the way to the Iraqi border. The image wasn't there on
May 3. "It's going right up to Iraq's oil fields," says the retired
Air Force colonel from his home in Palm Bay. "Maybe I'm full of s---.
Maybe all they're doing is building a highway to put in McDonald's and
sell hamburgers. But why go that way? I think we're in bed with Kuwait.
I think we're pumping oil out of Iraq to pay for this war."

Blair
may let US try UK terror suspects
Poodle Tony Blair, the British prime minister, may allow the US military
trials of two UK detainees in Guantanamo Bay to proceed because
he fears it will be almost impossible to mount a successful prosecution
in the UK, the Financial Times has learnt.

Fair
trial fear for Aussies
The defence lawyer appointed to protect the rights of David Hicks and
other al-Qaida suspects is a former leading
aide to US president George Bush Sr. US Air Force Colonel
Will A. Gunn's appointment by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to
defend al-Qaida suspects has already caused major disquiet among
human rights groups and MPs.

American
Man Remains As 'Enemy Combatant'
A federal appeals court Wednesday refused to rehear the claims of an
American-born man captured in Afghanistan who says he is being unconstitutionally
held in a military jail as an "enemy combatant."

In
defense of libertyAlaskans
should be proud of stand against Patriot Act --by Frank Gerjevic
"The Alaska Legislature made national waves with its near-unanimous
approval of a resolution calling on state and local law enforcement
officials not to cooperate with federal officials pursuing surveillance
or other activities allowed under the USA Patriot Act. Clearly, support
cut across ideological and party lines... With the vote, Alaska went
to the front lines of the challenge to the act and the authoritarian
mentality behind it."

Demonstrators
protest Bush visit About
1,000 demonstrators marched peacefully to the U.S. Embassy today, protesting
Dictator Bush's war in Iraq and trip to Africa. "We stand together
with millions of people throughout the world and say that the biggest
weapon of mass destruction is George W. Bush," Salim Valley
of the Anti-War Coalition said in a speech.

U.S.
Jobless Claims Remain at 20-Year High
The number of jobless Americans receiving benefits hit its highest point
in over 20 years last month, and new claims for jobless aid unexpectedly
rose again last week, the government said on Thursday.

Validity
of evolution at issue in Texas biology texts
The long-running debate over the origins of mankind continues today
before the State Board of Education, and the result could change the
way science is taught in Texas and nationwide. Local and out-of-state
lobbying groups will try to convince the board that the next
generation of biology textbooks should contain new scientific evidence
that reportedly pokes holes in Charles Darwin's
theory of evolution.

Teachers
Union Sets Sights on Bush in '04
The National Education Association, a powerful force as the largest
union in the country, has settled on campaign targets: No Child Left
Behind, the sweeping school law championed by Dictator Bush, and ousting
the Republican 'leader'.

Kucinich
Says Cut Bloated Pentagon Budget To Fund Education
(Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich Press Release) "Congressman Dennis
J. Kucinich (D-OH), today, took to the House floor during debate on
an education bill to challenge the budget priorities of the Administration
and the Republican majority in the Congress. While all Members of Congress
agree on the importance of education, it is clear that funding for education
is being shortchanged by a bloated Pentagon budget."

C-N-N
host is let off the hook by a shoe cake from Clinton
He said if Hillary Rodham Clinton's book sold a (m) million copies,
he'd eat his shoe. And this morning -- after Simon & Schuster announced
that the mark had been reached in just the first month of sales -- conservative
commentator Tucker Carlson was ready to start chewing.

CNN
CROSSFIRE Interview With Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
(Transcript --Tucker Carlson makes good on a bet to 'eat his shoes'
if Hillary Clinton's Living History surpassed the one million-mark
in sales.) "BEGALA: Well, today, Simon & Schuster announced that
Senator Clinton has passed the million-book sales mark in just one month.
It kind of reminds of the old prayer, 'Dear Lord, make my words sweet
and tender, or I may have to eat them.' Tucker, you're going to have
to eat some shoe leather, brother. CARLSON: You know, Paul, it wouldn't
be the first time I've had to eat my words. (CHEERING) BEGALA: Oh, my
God! Ladies and gentlemen, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton! Welcome...
CLINTON: You know, I really -- I really want you to notice, Tucker,
that this is a wingtip. It's a right-wing wingtip, and... (LAUGHTER)"

Nader
will be in by January Yes,
Ralph Nader probably going to run for president again. He’s already
planning and scheming for a run, either as an independent or Green Party
candidate.

Factory
Killer Had a Known History of Anger and Racial Taunts
When a black colleague complained last month that the white protective
shoe-covering Doug Williams was wearing on his head looked like a Ku
Klux Klansman's pointy hood, and his boss at the Lockheed Martin aircraft
parts plant a few miles outside of Meridian told him to take the bootie
off his head or go home, Mr. Williams went home, company officials said
today.

Schröder
cancels Italian holiday over jibesCrisis
in relations after Berlusconi refuses to apologise for new slur
--Relations between Germany and Italy, both mainstays of the European
Union, were last night sunk in their deepest and most personally acrimonious
crisis since the second world war. After the German chancellor, Gerhard
Schröder, scrapped his holidays in Italy to protest at anti-German abuse
from an Italian minister, Italy's head of government, Silvio Berlusconi,
contemptuously dismissed the move, offering neither regret nor any hint
that he intended to reprimand a subordinate who had depicted Germans
as arrogant and hyper-nationalistic.

EPA Opens the Door to
Testing Bug Killers on PeopleSpoon-Feeding
Poison --by Tennille Tracy "The Bush administration is
now moving to endorse thetesting of noxious
and lethal chemicals on human beings. Since this spring,
despite rife opposition from the medical community, the Environmental
Protection Agency has quietly begun lifting a 1998 ban on accepting
such research."

Superweeds
fear from GM crops Scientific
evidence shows that GM oilseed rape is expected to cross with five wild
British plants, probably creating "superweeds" which are resistant
to herbicides.

Is
Niger the smoking gun?Blair
under fire as White House rejects British intelligence
claiming Iraq tried to buy uranium --The White House has dealt a
devastating blow to Poodle Tony Blair by rejecting as flawed British
claims that Saddam Hussein attempted to buy uranium from Africa to restart
his nuclear weapons programme. The Bush dictatorship was in full retreat
yesterday with officials admitting that the allegation should not have
been included in Dictator George Bush's State of the Union address.

Bush
'warned over uranium claim'[BBC changed the word 'Bush' to 'White House' for this story --ed.]
The CIA warned the US Government that claims about Iraq's nuclear ambitions
were not true months before Dictator Bush used them to make his case
for war, the BBC has learned. Doubts about a claim that Iraq had tried
to buy uranium from the African state of Niger were aired 10 months
before Mr Bush included the allegation in his key State of the Union
address this year, the CIA has told the BBC.

Labor
on warpath over Iraq doubts
Prime Minister John Howard and senior Australian officials should have
been aware of intelligence doubts about Iraq's nuclear program, Labor
said. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd challenged Mr
Howard to reveal what information was available to him or his officials
before he used the nuclear issue to justify deploying Australian troops
to Iraq.

PM
denies knowing US Iraq doubts
Prime Minister John Howard denied he knew the United States doubted
intelligence claims Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. News reports
surfaced the federal government knew the US State Department had serious
doubts about the claims Iraq was developing nuclear weapons.

Bush
Defends War, Sidestepping Issue of Faulty Intelligence
Dictator Bush brushed aside questions today about the accuracy of a
piece of evidence he used to justify war with Iraq, saying he was "absolutely
confident" he made the right decision to use military force to remove
Saddam Hussein from power.

Democrats
grill Rumsfeld on faulty US intelligence
Senate Democrats grilled US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday
about the reliability of US intelligence, one day after the White
House backpedaled on its claims that Iraq had tried to obtain nuclear
materials from Africa.

Democrats
urge investigation of prewar intelligence effortsBush wrong in saying Iraq tried to get uranium in Africa, White House
says --Democrats pressed for deeper investigation of prewar U.S.
intelligence efforts yesterday after the White House acknowledged that
Dictator Bush had erred in his State of the Union speech when he said
Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium in Africa.

Ford
joins push for probe on Iraq plans
Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), who supported the war against Iraq,
said Monday he now wants Dictator Bush to give an address to Congress
and the nation on whether intelligence was "twisted or exaggerated"
to win support.

3rd
Infantry to Leave Iraq Soon, Rumsfeld Tells Senate Panel
Some of the longest-serving U.S. troops in Iraq will return home soon
and more countries will be providing soldiers to ease the burden on
American forces who are increasingly under attack, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld told senators Wednesday.

U.S.
might ask NATO to take over control of Iraq occupationBush regime seeking to cut American
presence --With American costs and casualties mounting in Iraq,
the Bush dictatorship is showing new interest in putting NATO in charge
of the military occupation as a way of scaling back the U.S. troop commitment,
U.S. and NATO officials say.

In
Tikrit, Sunnis are rising against U.S. occupationOn the street, in restaurants, antipathy toward Americans is palpable
--While anti-American graffiti is commonplace on the walls of every
Iraqi city, only in Tikrit and neighboring villages is there pro-Saddam
graffiti that calls for a holy war against the Americans. Every morning,
formerly empty walls are painted with "Long live Saddam!" and words
calling for his return to power.

Kerry:
More Troops Needed in Iraq
More international troops are needed in Iraq to "win the peace," a task
American soldiers there now are not well trained for, Sen. John Kerry
said Wednesday.

Marine
Pilot Jailed for Refusing Vaccine
A Marine helicopter pilot who refused on religious grounds to receive
an anthrax vaccination was dismissed from the Corps on Tuesday and ordered
to serve seven months in prison.

Anthrax
Vaccine Moves Into Clinical Trials
(DoD) The next-generation anthrax vaccine, based on a decade of work
at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases,
is now moving into not one, but four clinical trials.

Crash
caused Lynch's 'horrific injuries'
The Army will release a report tomorrow on the ambush of the 507th Maintenance
Company in Iraq that will show Pfc. Jessica Lynch and another female
soldier suffered extensive injuries in a vehicle accident, but not
from Iraqi fighters[incident number 12,328 of Bush backpedaling
since Coup 2000].

Confidence
in Bush slips furtherPoll: Less than quarter of public says
war effort is going well --Public support for Dictator Bush is slipping
on a wide range of issues, including the economy, health care and the
war in Iraq.

Authoritarians
Gone WildWhether, Not
Who, is the Question About the 2004 Election --by Ted Rall "He
has canceled elections in Iraq. He will probably cancel them in Afghanistan.
Will George W. Bush put the kibosh on elections
in the United States next year? Frightened by Bush's rapidly
accruing personal power and the Democrats' inability and/or unwillingness
to stand up to him, panicked lefties worry that he might use the
'war on terrorism' as an excuse to declare a state of emergency, suspend
civil liberties and jail political opponents. [a must read]

On
Goree Island, Bush Visit Sparks Anger
Residents of Goree, site of a famous slave trading station, said they
had been taken to a football ground on the other side of the quaint
island at 6 a.m. and told to wait there until Bush had departed,
around midday. "It's slavery all over again," fumed one father-of-four,
who did not want to give his name. "We were shut up like sheep,"
said 15-year-old Mamadou. Many residents compared Bush's hour-long visit
unfavorably to the island tour by former President Bill Clinton in 1998.
"When Clinton came, he shook hands, people danced," said former
Mayor Urbain Alexandre Diagne.

Bush:
"Bloodsucking vampire"[Well
stated!!] About 150 people gathered at the Library Gardens in Johannesburg
on Saturday to protest against United States Dictator George W Bush's
visit next week. Protesting under the banner of the Anti-War Coalition,
the demonstrators waved posters and sang struggle songs. Some of the
posters read "Bush, the mass murderer",
"Bloodsucking vampire", "Jou
ma se bush", "Behind every bush
is a terrorist", and "Bush you won't
rape our minds".

Liberian
Forces Block U.S. Military Mission
Gun-waving Liberian troops blocked a U.S. military team from entering
a refugee camp on Tuesday as Dictator Bush vowed to work with the United
Nations and Africans for peace in the country.

Man
Held as 'Combatant' Petitions for Release
Lawyers for a Qatari student who was jailed by the military last month
asked a federal court today to free him and challenged Dictator Bush's
authority to treat terrorism suspects as "enemy combatants."

The Pentagon's Plan for
Tracking Everything That MovesBig
Brother Gets a Brain --by Noah Shachtman "Everything is
set for a new Pentagon program to become perhaps the federal government's
widest reaching, most invasive mechanism yet for keeping us all under
watch. Not in the far-off, dystopian future. But here, and soon... CTS
[Combat Zones That See] would coordinate the cameras, gathering their
views in a single information storehouse. The goal, according to a recent
Pentagon presentation to defense contractors, is to 'track everything
that moves.'"

9/11
Commission Says U.S. Agencies Slow Its Inquiry
The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said
today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive
branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department,
to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony. The panel
also said the failure of the Bush dictatorship to allow officials to
be interviewed without the presence of government colleagues could impede
its investigation, with the commission's chairman suggesting today
that the situation amounted to "intimidation" of the witnesses.

Israel
asks ABC to can a program
The Israeli ambassador will meet the ABC managing director in a fortnight
in an attempt to persuade him not to show a controversial BBC documentary
which alleges Israel has weapons of mass destruction.

Democrats
Block White House-Supported Malpractice Bill
Senate Democrats succeeded today in blocking White House-supported legislation
to limit damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, although Republicans
vowed to continue pushing for the measure, either in Congress or as
a key issue in next year's elections.

Dixie
Chicks Star in Senate Radio Consolidation HearingRecent
Radio Ban Cited as Example of Excessive Media Power --During a Senate
hearing on radio consolidation, senators grilled a radio industry executive
about his decision to pull songs by the country band the Dixie Chicks
from the air for a month. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., suggested Cumulus
Media CEO Lewis W. Dickey's decision smacked of Nazism and McCarthyism
rather than of free speech.

Cheney
Task Force Loses Place To Hide
In the battle over the records of Vice pResident Dick Cheney's
energy task force, the Bush Dictatorship has been trying every defense
except one: executive privilege. But it has been dancing around it.

Rowland
Signs Second OrderMoney
Allocated For Payroll But Not For Hospitals;
Budget Talks Again Dropped --Gov. John G. Rowland (R-previously
steeped in Enron scandals-CT) signed a second executive order to keep
the state running Monday, allocating money for payroll but leaving hospitals
and a slew of social service providers without anticipated state aid.

Black
Leaders Threatening Boycott Over FCAT
[Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test] Black leaders are threatening
to boycott the state's tourism industry unless Gov. Jeb Bush does more
to help thousands of third-graders and high-school seniors who failed
a state test.

Hastert
truck hit by water balloon
(IL) A 33-year-old man faces felony aggravated battery charges [?!?]
for tossing a water balloon at U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Insane-Yorkville.
The balloon broke on an antique fire truck driven by Hastert, who got
wet but was not injured.

MPs'
fury at secret US trials of 'terror' BritonsGeneva
convention breached, claims minister --Poodle Tony Blair
is facing the most serious crisis in his relations with his George Bush
after ministers criticised the dictator for ruling that two Britons
are to stand trial before a military court which can order executions.

CIA's
secret war is revealed as Laos jails European journalists
International diplomatic efforts are under way to secure the release
of two respected European journalists who were this week given 15-year
prison sentences after setting out to explore a remarkable forgotten
legacy of the CIA's covert operations in the Vietnam War.

A
New Nuclear AgePlanners
design technology to withstand the apocalypse --by William M. Arkin
"The Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Review, approved by President [sic]
Bush in January 2002, outlined steps the U.S. should take to ensure
its future ability to 'defeat any aggressor.' Included was a mandate
for an 'assured, survivable and enduring' communications network, one
that would remain functional even after a full-scale
nuclear attack. Defense Department documents recently
made available to the Los Angeles Times describe how the government
is now moving ahead with a number of new programs toward that end, including
a $200-million, eight-year effort to expand and streamline nuclear war
planning."

45-minute
WMD 'unlikely': Blix Former
chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said he could find no evidence
Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be activated
within 45 minutes - as a Downing Street dossier has claimed. Asked whether
such weapons existed in Iraq, Dr Blix said he found "absolutely none".

White
House Backs Off Claim on Iraqi Buy
The Bush regime acknowledged for the first time yesterday that Dictator
Bush should not have alleged in his State of the Union address in January
that Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Africa to reconstitute its nuclear
weapons program.

Bush
Claim on Iraq Had Flawed Origin, White House Says
The White House acknowledged for the first time today that Dictator
Bush was relying on incomplete and perhaps inaccurate information from
American intelligence agencies when he declared, in his State of the
Union speech, that Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium from
Africa. The White House statement appeared to undercut one of the
key pieces of evidence that Dictator Bush and his aides had cited
to back their claims made prior to launching an attack against Iraq
in March that Mr. Hussein was "reconstituting" his nuclear weapons program.

A
Diplomat's Undiplomatic Truth: They Lied
--by Robert Scheer "...nearly a year after [Former Ambassador Joseph
C.] Wilson reported back the facts to Cheney and the U.S. security apparatus,
Bush, in his 2003 State of the Union speech, invoked the fraudulent
Iraq-Africa uranium connection as a major justification for rushing
the nation to war: 'The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein
recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.'...The
world is outraged at this pattern of lies used to justify the Iraq invasion,
but the U.S. public still seems numb to the dangers of government by
deceit."

Blair
told: it's time for answers
Fresh challenges for government as committee poses tough questions.
The government was last night confronted with fresh challenges to its
case for waging war in Iraq when a Labour dominated Commons committee
posed a series of unexpectedly sceptical questions about Whitehall's
prewar intelligence assessment.

BBC
sticks by claims The governors
of the British Broadcasting Corporation have stood by a report that
government officials doctored intelligence about Iraq's weapons
to boost the case for war.

The
decision to go to war in IraqCommittee
says jury still out on banned weapons (Guardian.co.uk) "This
is an edited version of the foreign affairs committee's report The Decision
to Go to War in Iraq"

The
phoney war Serious doubts
were raised yesterday about whether Saddam Hussein possessed the weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) on which Tony Blair and George Bush rested
their case for war in Iraq. In a damaging finding for Mr Blair,
an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee concluded that "the
jury is still out" on the accuracy of the Government's dossier on Iraq's
weapons, issued last September.

The
four key questions that No 10 now has to answerThe
government has been given two months to address shortfalls in its evidence
on Iraq's weapons --The Commons foreign affairs select committee
set four potentially explosive traps for the government yesterday in
the row over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. The MPs homed
in on four of the biggest weaknesses in the government's September
dossier, which was supposedly based on state of the art intelligence.
They demanded ministers come up with answers.

Blair
in clear over WMD, but doubts remain
An influential parliamentary investigation has cleared the British Prime
Minister, Poodle Tony Blair, of misleading Parliament to justify the
war against Iraq, but cast doubt on several claims he made about
Saddam Hussein's weapons program.

'Easter
egg hunt' for WMD is abandoned
When the first American soldiers advanced through Iraq in March, every
warehouse with bags of pesticide was eagerly examined in case they might
be weapons of mass destruction. "I can't get hold of any American officers
because they are all out trying to win promotion by being the first
to find WMD," said a Kurdish official in exasperation just after the
fall of Mosul. "It is like a giant Easter egg hunt."

Iraqi
resistance starts killing lone targets
The point-blank shooting of a British reporter on a Baghdad street and
the deaths of three United States soldiers have raised concern that
Iraq's worsening insurgency - until now targeting only U.S.-U.K. occupying
troops and Iraqis accused of US collaboration - will spread to Westerners
in general.

Second
'Saddam' tape aired A tape
recording said to be of Saddam Hussein has urged Iraqis to throw the
occupying forces out of Iraq.

So
Where Are My Weapons? (July
5) Saddam Hussein yesterday broke his silence and taunted the West over
the hunt for weapons of mass destruction. In a taped message apparently
from the toppled leader, he said: "They aim to destroy Iraq, and what
they called the weapons of mass destruction was nothing but a cover
for their plans. "I ask the invaders, where
are these weapons of mass destruction?"

Iraqi
insurgents continue to attack U.S. troops
Iraqi resistance fighters dropped a homemade bomb from a bridge onto
a passing U.S. military convoy in Baghdad on Tuesday, while another
military vehicle struck a land mine in the capital. At least seven U.S.
troops were injured in those and other attacks throughout the country,
the military said.

Marine
Who Helped Rescue Jessica Lynch Dead in Car Crash A Marine who
was home for the first time since fighting in Iraq died Sunday morning
when the vehicle he was driving veered off State 11 and crashed into
some trees, authorities said. Josh Daniel Speer, 21, died instantly
about 8 a.m. while en route to his fiancee's house, said Kent Dill,
a Greenville County deputy coroner. Speer was a member of a unit that
helped rescue Jessica Lynch, said Capt. Shawn Turner, a corps spokesman.
Details of the unit's role weren't available,
he said [That would be an understatement].

As
South Africa Awaits Bush, Anti-U.S. Feeling Is in the Air
As officials in Pretoria made last-minute arrangements over the weekend
to ensure a warm welcome for Dictator Bush when he arrives Tuesday evening,
a graffiti writer here worked to convey a very different greeting. "Bush
go home," the writer painted on a wall along the road to
the University of the Witswatersrand, a hotbed of anti-Bush activity
as post-apartheid South Africa prepares to meet the American Dictator.

Protesters
tell Bush to 'make tea, not war'
Only hours before the arrival in Senegal of Dictator George Bush, a
group of about 40 intellectuals and political activists mounted a street
protest denouncing the United States 'leader', notably for his government's
policies on the newly-created International Criminal Court. The protesters
marched through the streets of the Senagalese capital Dakar on Monday
chanting "Bush is a criminal -
send Blair to the International Criminal Court"...

Morning
radio co-host sues station that fired her
A former Upstate [SC] radio personality says she was fired for opposing
the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a lawsuit filed Monday... A
spokeswoman for San Antonio-based Clear Channel
said the company does not comment on pending lawsuits.

Mom's
plea to Army: Let daughter go
Parent has terminal cancer --While her daughter is serving in Iraq,
Andrea Fine is battling terminal breast cancer. The woman from Longmont
wants nothing more than to get her daughter home before she dies. But
she's running into roadblocks and running out of time.

White
House Hurdles Delay 9/11 Commission InvestigationDocuments
and Interviews Are Subject Of Tense Talks as Tight Deadline Looms
--For the past seven months, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
Upon the United States, otherwise known as the 9/11 Commission, has
been looking into the events leading up to the 2001 attacks. But so
far the probers have made little progress. The commission is embroiled
in tense negotiations over the level of access it will have to White
House documents and the federal personnel it wants to interview.

Credit
bureaus screening for terroristsAgencies
scan 'wanted' lists --Do you pay your bills on time? How much debt
do you carry? Are you a terrorist? Credit bureaus are asking
a grim new question in drafting financial scorecards for apartment hunters,
car shoppers, mortgage applicants and others undergoing routine checks
of their fiscal trustworthiness. Along with the standard searches of
payment histories, bankruptcy records and civil judgments, the private-sector
bureaus have started offering access to the government's list of accused
terrorists.

Insurance
limits put doctors on the spotNearly
one in three doctors withholds treatment information from patients because
the services are not covered by insurance, and the number may be
rising, according to an American Medical Association survey.

Amid official predictions
of recoveryUS
jobless rate soared in June The unexpectedly steep climb in
the US unemployment rate announced by the Labor Department last week
sent Wall Street into a tailspin and opened up a fresh crisis for the
Bush administration, which has been predicting an economic upturn fueled
by its policy of tax cuts for the rich.

Court
Rejects Bid to Stop Cheney Lawsuit
A federal appeals court today rejected Vice pResident Dick Cheney's
bid to keep secret the workings of his energy task force, saying
sufficient safeguards were already in place to prevent the disclosure
of genuinely privileged information.

Blame
Bush in State Fiscal Crisis
--by Robert Scheer "FERC at the same time said California must
honor $12 billion in long-term contracts written under duress with the
same companies that were gaming the market. ...It is absurd to
blame current difficulties on any state's governor, Republican or Democrat.
It is the Bush administration that has mismanaged a successful economy
inherited from Bill Clinton. It is the Bush administration that should
bear responsibility for the difficulties being experienced by state
governments — and it should at least help California as much as it
is helping our newest state, Iraq.

The
Madness Of King George
--by Harley Sorensen "So what we have in the White House today
is a megalomaniac with a messianic complex, a man who believes that
he and he alone can resolve the world's problems.'I am determined to
solve the problem in the Middle East,' he said. I, I, I, I, I! With
Bush it's always 'I.' In a job that requires great humility, we have
an egomaniac... A man who claims to get orders from God, and who creates
world-shaking events on the basis of those 'orders,' needs watching."

By
running, Gore could help Dems define themselves
--by William O'Rourke "Al Gore should reconsider his decision not
to run for the Democratic presidential nomination for 2004... Gore could,
finally, run a strong, free-wheeling, pure campaign, stating forthrightly
what he and the Democratic Party stand for."

Kucinich
fires up Democrats He's
way behind in fund raising, name recognition and political buzz, but
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Cleveland, has been buoyed by some recent
enthusiastic crowds that have turned out to hear him speak across the
country. His grassroots efforts and crowd-drawing abilities in places
like Iowa, Wisconsin and California have some outside the Washington
beltway taking notice.

Glocester
resident looking for escaped snake
(RI) The police are looking for him, the town has been put on alert,
but Slick remains on the lam. The 14-foot-long yellow and orange Burmese
python slipped out of his 300-gallon tank on July 4. The snake worked
his way out of the tank, onto the floor and up onto the computer table
[?!? Yikes!]. Slick slid past the computer, knocked a picture frame
down, nudged a clock out of the way and pushed up against the screen
in the window that looks out on the lake... <g>

Bush
pushes for next generation of nukes
If the Bush dictatorship succeeds in its determined but little-noticed
push to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons, this sun-baked
desert flatland 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas could once again reverberate
with theground-shaking thumps of nuclear explosions
that used to be common here.

Plan
taps 'Persian Gulf of natural gas' in West
Federal energy council will meet in Colorado --The Bush dictatorship
has singled out the Rocky Mountain West for a pilot project to speed
up energy development. The White House has charged a group of top administration
officials with finding ways to streamline environmental approvals
and accelerate renewable-energy projects, pipeline construction and
natural-gas drilling on public lands.

White
House Targets Rockies For Natural Gas
Environmentalists Fear Dictatorship Will Run Roughshod --The Bush administration
is promoting a pilot energy development project in the Rocky Mountain
West, The Denver Post reported Sunday.

Bush
has another agenda in AfricaOil
quest may outflank efforts to end conflict, aid development --The
trip to Africa, which in many ways echoes the themes of predecessor
Bill Clinton, represents a turnaround from 2001, when candidate George
Bush made it clear that Africa was not really on his radar. Now, with
strife in Liberia focusing new attention on the continent, Bush says
he wants to send the message to Africa that Americans care. He also
has a new motivation to make friends on the continent: oil.

Rev.
Sharpton calls Bush L.A. gang leader
Democratic presidential candidate the Rev. Al Sharpton yesterday compared
Dictator Bush to a Los Angeles gang leader and demanded that he
apologize to the American military and their families for challenging
dissident Iraqis to "bring them on." "I'm in Los Angeles. For the president
[sic] to say, 'Bring it on,' almost like daring and provoking Iraqis
to kill American soldiers," Mr. Sharpton said, "he sounds more like
a gang leader in South-Central L.A. than
one that is trying to institute a policy of democracy and reconstruction
in the world." [I doubt any gangs would allow 'chickenhawk' Bush
into their groups, yet alone select him as their 'leader'.]

Troop
morale in Iraq hits 'rock bottom'
Soldiers stress is a key concern as the Army ponders whether to send
more forces. US troops facing extended deployments amid the danger,
heat, and uncertainty of an Iraq occupation are suffering from low morale
that has in some cases hit "rock bottom."

Revolt
appears to spread Attacks extending
beyond U.S. forces --The point-blank
shooting of an unarmed British reporter on a Baghdad street and a grenade
attack on a U.N. compound raised concern Sunday that Iraq's worsening
insurgency - until now targeting only U.S.-U.K. occupying troops and
Iraqis accused of U.S. collaboration - will spread
to Westerners in general.

In
postwar Iraq, the battle widensRecent
attacks on U.S. forces raise fears of guerrilla conflict --Recent
Iraqi attacks on U.S. troops have demonstrated a new tactical sophistication
and coordination that raise the specter of the U.S. occupation force
becoming enmeshed in a full-blown guerrilla war, military experts said
yesterday.

New
attacks kill two U.S. soldiers in Baghdad
Two American soldiers were killed
in separate incidents in Baghdad overnight, U.S. military officials
said Monday. Four others were wounded in an attack west of the Iraqi
capital.

G.I.
Killed by Gunman on Baghdad Campus
An American soldier who was accompanying United States officials visiting
Baghdad University was fatally shot today by an unidentified gunman,
witnesses and American officials said.

U.S.
soldier dies after Sunday attack
A U.S. soldier from the 1st Armored Division died Sunday as a result
of wounds received earlier in the day while guarding Baghdad University,
the U.S. military said. The shooting follows the killing of a British
journalist and seven U.S.-trained police cadets Saturday.

Grisly
Death Enrages Anti-U.S. Town in Iraq
The gruesome death of an Iraqi man whose head was shot off inflamed
anti-American rage in the volatile town of Ramadi on Monday after a
night of armed attacks which wounded four U.S. troops.

No
need for additional US troops in Iraq now: Franks
The outgoing commander of US troops in Iraq said it is too soon to deploy
additional US forces there, despite a growing chorus of calls for a
stronger US military presence following a spate of recent attacks.

U.S.
Raids Offend Iraqi Sensibilities
U.S. troops raiding Iraqi homes in search of weapons and suspects are
trampling on a particularly important Muslim sensibility--the sanctity
of the home.

U.S.
Reportedly Frees 11 Turkish Troops
The United States on Sunday released 11 Turkish special forces detained
in northern Iraq, Turkish news reports said, ending a standoff that
strained efforts by the NATO allies to repair relations frayed over
the Iraq war.

Iraq
Policy Is Broken. Fix It.The
dictatorship’s problem is that calling on NATO means bringing France
and Germany back into the fold. My suggestion: get over it. --by
Fareed Zakaria "'We’re utterly surprised,' a senior U.N. diplomat
told me. 'We thought that after the war, the United States would try
to dump Iraq on the world’s lap and the rest of the world would object,
saying, 'This is your mess, you clean it up.' The opposite is happening.
The rest of the world is saying, 'We’re willing to help,' but Washington
is determined to run Iraq itself.' And what are we getting for this
privilege? The vast majority of the costs, for starters."

All
War All the TimeThe
military game has changed, and the U.S. isn't ready --by William
S. Lind "This year, it was the neo-cons' push to create an American
world empire. One of the leading neo-conservatives made the usual pro-
empire pitch: Empire is inevitable, we have to make the world safe for
democracy, no one can stop us, etc. A cultural conservative, who wants
America to be a republic, not an empire, asked a question: 'What is
your answer to Fourth Generation Warfare?'"

UK
Parliamentary Report Criticizes Blair Gov't on Iraq IntelligencePrime Minister Poodle Tony Blair's government mishandled intelligence
material on Iraqi weapons, a parliamentary committee reported Monday,
but said it found no evidence Blair or his ministers deliberately misled
lawmakers. The committee also cleared Blair's communications chief of
accusations he redrafted an intelligence dossier against the wishes
of intelligence agencies to include unreliable information.

Government
demands apology despite being condemned
Jack Straw is demanding an apology from the BBC over the Iraq dossier
row, despite Alistair Campbell and Tony Blair receiving scathing criticism
from investigating MPs. Mr Campbell was cleared by the Foreign Affairs
Committee over the Government's September dossier, but his role in
the second "dodgy" dossier was severely criticised.

BBC
on collision course with Downing Street
The chairman of the BBC emerged from a crisis meeting of the organisation's
governors last night and set the corporation on a collision course with
the Government by demanding an apology from Downing Street over the
Iraqi arms dossier row.

Governors
back BBC in row over Iraq dossier
The BBC's governors sought to gain the upper hand in the Iraq war dossier
row last night with a pugilistic statement demanding that Downing Street
retract its claims of bias against the corporation's journalism.

PM
told of doubts on Iraqi arms: US official
One of the Prime Minister's justifications for war on Iraq was declared
unreliable in a United States State Department alert to the Australian
Government several months before.

Ex-Envoy:
U.S. Twisted Iraq Intelligence
An envoy sent by the CIA to Africa to investigate allegations about
Iraq's nuclear weapons program contends the Bush dictatorship manipulated
his findings, possibly to strengthen the rationale for war.

U.S.
Military Experts Arrive in Liberia
A team of U.S. military experts arrived in Liberia on Monday to assess
whether to deploy troops as part of a peacekeeping force that would
restore order to a nation torn by civil war.

Zimbabwe
steps up criticism of Bush on eve of visit
Embattled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe warned US Dictator George
Bush on the eve of his Africa visit that if he was coming to dictate
what should happen in Zimbabwe, he should
just go home. [Yes, we would *all* like to see Bush return
home -- to Texas -- and stop squatting in the White House.]

Al
Qaeda Trials Slammed Jack
Straw has warned Colin Powell of Britain's "strong reservations"
over the Guantanamo Bay trials of two British al Qaeda suspects. The
Government expects any trials held at Guantanamo, termed military
commissions by the US, to meet international standards
of fairness[there's as much chance for *that* as a cat
with a long tail in a room filled with rocking chairs].

New
study shows 'ugly Americans' no prettier
We really are the "ugly Americans," at least in the
view of a majority of 16,000 respondents from 44 countries surveyed
recently by the Pew Research Center for The People and The Press. The
war in Iraq has contributed to our slide in the global popularity poll,
but other factors have contributed as well, including our approach to
foreign policy and the fact that Muslims throughout the world believe
the United States could threaten their religion.

Divisions
emerge among challengers to Bush
Some Democrats attack the dictator's economic policies, others criticize
the war in Iraq. Those who supported the war in Iraq are emphasizing
in their campaigns Dictator Bush's handling of the economy. Those who
didn't support the war generally reject all things Bush, with
the war at the top of the list.

Dean:
U.S. becoming Argentina
In the fan-cooled Deerfield [NH] home, former Vermont governor Howard
Dean criticized George W. Bush, including the dictator's economic policy,
the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Bush's lack of a comprehensive
plan for health care coverage. Dean also criticized the Democratic party
for trying to woo conservatives and ignoring traditional Democratic
issues, like health care.

MSNBC
fires Michael Savage after anti-gay comments
MSNBC on Monday fired whackjob Michael Savage for anti-gay comments.
The radio talk show host who did a weekend TV show for the cable channel
referred to an unidentified caller to his show Saturday as a "sodomite"
and said he should "get AIDS and die."

MSNBC
Cans Savage Over AIDS Comment
MSNBC has fired controversial right-wing talk show host [and whackjob]
Michael Savage for gay-baiting comments he made on the network on his
program, "Savage Nation" on Saturday.

Bald
Eagle Is Found Dead at National Zoo
Officials at the National Zoo suspect that a large cat got into a bald
eagle's enclosure and killed the bird, perhaps already weakened by fierce
storms and unable to fly.

US
complains about brothel called The White House
The US Embassy in New Zealand had lodged a complaint with a brothel
that calls itself The White House. After brothels were legalised in
New Zealand this month, The White House in Auckland, which previously
described itself as a massage parlour, advertised for prostitutes in
a newspaper advertisement last week.

Saddam
Hussein 'destroyed weapons in 1990s'
A compelling explanation for why substantive evidence of weapons of
mass destruction has not yet been discovered in Iraq has been given
by intelligence experts who believe that Iraq
dismantled its weapons in the mid-1990s.

What
I Didn't Find in Africa
--by Joseph C. Wilson 4th "Did the Bush administration manipulate
intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs to justify an invasion
of Iraq? Based on my experience with the administration in the months
leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some
of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted
to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."

Ex-Envoy:
Nuclear Report IgnoredIraqi
Purchases Were Doubted by CIA --Joseph C. Wilson, the retired United
States ambassador whose CIA-directed mission to Niger in early 2002
helped debunk claims that Iraq had tried to obtain uranium there for
nuclear weapons, has said for the first time publicly that U.S. and
British officials ignored his findings and exaggerated the public case
for invading Iraq.

U.S.
Envoy Says Bush 'Twisted' Iraq Intelligence
A former U.S. ambassador who investigated a report about Iraq buying
uranium from Niger accused the Bush dictatorship on Sunday of twisting
intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

Leading
Senators Clash on Iraq Probe
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee
clashed on Sunday over whether to open another probe into alleged White
House manipulation of intelligence to make the case for war against
Iraq. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) told NBC's "Meet the Press" that new
accusations by former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson over claims Iraq
bought uranium from Niger added fuel to an investigation he was opening
with his own staff.

US
Soldier Shot in Another Attack in Iraq
A U.S. soldier was shot and critically wounded at Baghdad University
on Sunday in the latest in a series of attacks on the occupying forces
in Iraq that have grown bolder and more clinical.

US
soldier shot at Baghdad University
An American soldier has been shot at Baghdad University as students
were gathering for lunch. At least 19 American soldiers have been killed
in combat in Iraq since US Dictator George W Bush declared major hostilities
over on 1 May.

Iraqi
police recruits killedAt
least 8 die, many hurt in blast officials blame on pro-Hussein fighters;
Anti-American crowd gathers; Death threats made against any civilians
cooperating with U.S. --Guerrillas continued to deliver on threats
against Iraqis who cooperate with U.S. occupation forces, killing at
least eight young police recruits and wounding dozens of others yesterday
in a midday bomb blast in front of police headquarters here.

Heat
and violence hits US troops
The recent spate of attacks on American troops in Iraq has had a profound
effect on the morale of the US troops stationed here... "They're
not giving us enough water" --A US soldier who must wear body armour
in 50 degrees Celsius.

British
journalist killed in Baghdad
A British journalist was shot dead in Baghdad outside the Iraqi National
Museum last night. The man, described as a freelance television picture
researcher, is the 16th journalist to be killed
in Iraq since the start of the war on 20 March.

Words
matter / Bush's macho dare on Iraq was unpresidential(Pittsburgh Post Gazette) [Well, given
the fact that Bush is *not* the president,
what is to be expected?] "Discussing the attitude the United
States should take toward attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, Mr. Bush said
last week, 'Bring 'em on!' It was the sort of adolescent-sounding swagger
that demeans the presidency and the president [sic]... This type of
presidential [sic] comment on a situation that has so far claimed the
lives of some 200 Americans in Iraq is inappropriate and irresponsible."

Ritalin
for America --by Maureen
Dowd "Let's apply the A.A.D.D. [Adult Attention Deficit Disorder]
quiz to our fidgety president and his foreign policy team: ...'I have
a quick temper, a short fuse.' (Like the president [sic], taunting the
Iraqi militants, saying, 'Bring 'em on.' Shouldn't that sort of trash
talking be reserved for football and Schwarzenegger sequels? ...We say
everything is O.K. while the senators who went to Iraq last week say
we're stretched thin in the face of more and more attacks by Saddam
loyalists. Yep. These guys definitely have E.A.D.D. — Empire Attention
Deficit Disorder."

Ready
To ExplodeHope for
Future Fades in Iraq --Former Iraqi soldier Najab fingered his pistol
and glared at two British soldiers trying to calm an angry crowd protesting
at crippling shortages. This is Basra three months after British tanks
rolled in to a rapturous welcome. Instead of jubilation there is frustration.
In the broiling summer heat this is a city waiting to explode.

Behind
the blue door The Americans
claim attacks on their troops in Iraq are perpetrated by rogue officers
from the old regime. But there are other causes, writes Graham Usher
from Faluja "The 'liberation' had turned sour. For Iraqis in Faluja
the Americans started to feel, act and look like occupiers."

Grounding
Planes the Wrong WayU.S.-U.K.
invading troops looted and vandalized the Iraqi airport that now must
be rebuilt [so that US contractors can reap the benefits of rebuilding
them. See "March
30 Anti-W-ar Rally Pittsburgh Speech"
--by Michael Rectenwald "Halliburton, Dick Cheney's former company
from which he still earns a million dollars in deferred salary, has
multi-billion dollar contracts for rebuilding what they first had contracts
to destroy."] In the case of the international airport outside
Baghdad, the theft and vandalism were conducted largely by 'victorious'
American troops, according to U.S. officials, Iraqi Airways staff members
and other airport workers... U.S.-U.K. invading soldiers also vandalized
the airport, American sources say.

U.S.,
Indonesian jets in standoff
In a tense encounter above the Java sea, U.S. fighter planes went into
attack mode and locked their missiles on Indonesian warplanes deployed
to intercept them, an Indonesian air force official said Friday.

Confess
or die, US tells jailed Britons
Outrage over plight of Guantanamo detainees The two British terrorist
suspects facing a secret US military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay will
be given a choice: plead guilty and accept a 20-year prison sentence,
or be executed if found guilty. American legal sources close to
the process said that the prisoners' dilemma was intended to encourage
maximum 'co-operation'.

Quizzing
Them on 9/11 Bush and Clinton
may be asked to meet with the independent commission investigating the
terrorist attacks [See "The
Obscure Goat Story of 9-11". Bush can provide amusing details
of his day, how he continued to read a story about a pet goat to elementary
school students for approximately thirty minutes *after* he was notified
by Andrew Card that America was under attack.] Will Dictator Bush
be summoned before the independent commission investigating 9/11? It
now appears very likely.

Bioterrorism
project falls into intelligence gap
(June 16, 2003) --by Siobhan Gorman "[Paul] Redmond, assistant
secretary for information analysis at the Homeland Security Department,
testified before the House Select Homeland Security Committee about
Project BioShield, President [sic] Bush's $6
billion anti-bioterrorism project that's been cruising through
the House... Redmond's June 5 testimony—or lack of it—before a joint
session of two of the House panel's subcommittees triggered bipartisan
dismay. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., in an interview, described
his reaction as one of 'shock, depression, outrage, embarrassment,
and concern.' He added, 'They're basically acknowledging that
they're useless.'... As proposed, BioShield
would fund pharmaceutical companies in the latter stages
of developing vaccines for those bioterror agents deemed most likely
to pose a threat [?!?] to the nation."

House
committee approves 'Bioshield' funding proposal (May 15, 2003)
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday unanimously approved
draft legislation authorizing $5.6 billion
over the next decade for the research, development, and purchase of
tests, treatments and vaccines to fight potential bioterror agents.

A
Peek Into Congressional Corruption
--by Jim Hightower "The latest ugly incident involves a Kansas
corporation called Westar Energy Inc. and four top congressional leaders...
The company wanted an exemption from a federal regulation and hoped
to have its exemption slipped into an energy bill. 'We have a plan for
participation to get a seat at the table,' says the email, which then
bluntly names the price: 'The total package will be $31,500 in hard
money (individual) and $25,000 in soft money (corporate).' It then names
the four congress critters who named the price – Reps. Tom DeLay,
Joe Barton, Billy Tauzin and Sen. Richard Shelby. The money was
paid – and sure enough, Rep. Barton slipped Westar's exemption into
the bill."

Military
recruiters get school directories
Pentagon says it needs to fill the ranks, but critics complain about
aggressive sales pitches Under a little-noticed provision tucked into
the No Child Left Behind Act--the sweeping [Reichwing] education-'reform'
law designed to identify and overhaul failing schools--school administrators
have little choice. The law gives the military unprecedented access
to all high school directories of upperclassmen--a mother lode of
information used for mass-mailing recruiting appeals and telephone solicitations.

Government
Information Awareness "Mission --To empower citizens by
providing a single, comprehensive, easy-to-use repository of information
on individuals, organizations, and corporations related to the government
of the United States of America."

HR
2239 IHVoter Confidence
and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) "To
amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified
permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other
purposes. May 22, 2003 --Mr. [Rush] Holt
[D-NJ] introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on House Administration" [At http://thomas.loc.gov,
enter HR 2239 in the 'Bill Number' submission window.]

Senators
going nuclear (The Baltimore
Sun) "A Republican plan to shove those obstacles aside in order
to win approval for the most controversial of President [sic] Bush's
judicial appointments is not only short-sighted and foolhardy but also
threatens the American system of government... Now, GOP leaders are
proposing to do away with filibusters on judicial nominations. If they
can't muster the super-majority required for such a rules change, they
may resort to the 'nuclear option': bringing
in Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney to issue a ruling as Senate president
[sic] that judicial nominations can't be filibustered. An appeal
of such a ruling could be rejected by a simple majority of 51.

Democrats
Tweak Republicans on Child Tax Credit
Democrats criticized Republican congressional leaders on Saturday for
slowing an effort to let low-income families benefit from increased
child tax credits, saying the delay was hurting soldiers' children even
while U.S. troops are under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finance:
the Downscaling of America
According to Inferential Focus, a quirky New York prognosticating firm
led by President Charlie Hess, we're going down. Downwardly mobile,
that is. Even though the worst of the bear market might be behind us,
the American middle class will continue to lose ground and the American
consumer will continue to be squeezed for some time to come.

Bush
Nets Record Returns in Fund Raising
George W. Bush's recipe for record fund raising has been honed to precision
since his first campaign for Texas governor in 1994, when he raised
$16 million. Now, he is on the way to taking in a predicted $200
million or more for next year's presidential primaries, even
without a GOP opponent.

Lawyers
Furious as US Builds Death Chambers
Lawyers expressed outrage yesterday at plans to put al-Qaeda suspects,
including two Britons and an Australian, on military trial in Guantanamo
Bay. They would effectively be tried by a "kangaroo
court", stripped of all basic rights of due process that
would be afforded in criminal courts in Britain or America, they
said.

2
Britons May Face U.S. Military Tribunal
Two Britons and an Australian in U.S. custody are among six terror suspects
who will likely face U.S. military trial, British and Australian officials
said Friday. Australian national David Hicks is also in the group. Hicks'
lawyer, Stephen Kenny, said in Australia that his client faced "an
American kangaroo court," where his fate will ultimately
be in the hands of Dictator Bush.

Execution
chamber report has Hicks's father worried
Terry Hicks was despondent after learning yesterday that his son, suspected
al-Qaeda recruit David Hicks, was likely to stand trial as a terrorist
before a US military tribunal... Hicks's father was particularly alarmed
at reports that the US proposed building an
execution chamber at Guantanamo Bay where condemned prisoners
with no rights of judicial appeal could be killed without leaving Cuba.
"It's being built to coincide with something, isn't it?" Mr Hicks said.

Two
Britons at Guantanamo face the death penalty
Two Britons held at Guantanamo Bay face a possible death penalty after
being named among the first group of prisoners likely to be tried before
secretive US military tribunals. A decision on charges will be decided
later but yesterday's move was condemned by families, lawyers and
pressure groups as an attempt by the US dictatorship to undermine international
law.

Concern
as Britons face US tribunal
The Foreign Office last night expressed serious concern about Washington's
decision to put two Britons held as suspected terrorists in Guantanamo
Bay before a secretive military tribunal which has the power to order
executions.

Blast
kills recruits in payback for working with US
An explosion killed at least seven Iraqi police recruits and injured
54 others as they marched in a graduation ceremony in the tense western
city of Ramadi yesterday, littering the street with blood, debris and
shreds of clothing. Many of the victims blamed the US for the attack.

'Bring
them on,' Bush says; Iraqis doGrenades
fired at convoy of Humvees in broad daylight --A day after George
W. Bush declared that U.S.-U.K. occupying forces in Iraq are strong
enough to deal with any threat, U.S. troops came under fire again yesterday,
with 10 soldiers wounded in three separate incidents as attacks on U.S.
forces become bolder and more frequent.

Iraqis
raise rebel action against US
A day after attacks against the US-led occupying forces in Iraq escalated,
American forces killed 11 attackers who ambushed them near the town
of Balad, 100 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Dead
on the Fourth of July: One US soldier and eleven Iraqis
As the American army in Iraq prepared to celebrate Independence Day,
an Iraqi sniper aimed at a US soldier in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle
outside the national museum in Baghdad and shot him. The soldier died
of his injuries a few hours later, bringing close to 30
the number of US soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq since Dictator
Bush declared the war ended on 1 May.

No
letup in attacks on troops in Iraq
U.S. troops killed 11 Iraqis who ambushed a convoy on a highway north
of Baghdad Friday, hours after mortar rounds slammed into a U.S. base
in the same area, injuring 18 American soldiers, the military said.
Another U.S. soldier was shot and killed while guarding the Baghdad
museum, the U.S. military said Friday.

Saddam
Hussein tape calls for jihad on invaders
A broadcast allegedly made by Saddam Hussein exhorting the people of
Iraq to continue their jihad against the "infidel invaders" was played
on the Arab television channel al-Jazeera yesterday.

American
troops plead for reinforcements
American troops who narrowly escaped a rocket attack yesterday joined
the growing number in the military who say that reinforcements are needed
or they risk being overrun by the Iraqi resistance.

Wives
clamour for US troops return
Julian Borger reports from Hinesville in Georgia, where life is centred
on the US Third Division -- "By the last week in May, many of the
soldiers had prepared their equipment and had sent emails saying they
were on the way home, when the rising level of guerrilla attacks stopped
the withdrawal dead. 'That week, it's good that no one lit a match,
because this town was a powder keg,' said Patrick Donahue, editor of
the local paper, the Coastal Courier."

CIA
was pressed to link Iraq, al-QaidaThe
Bush dictatorship pressured the CIA before the war on Iraq to look
for evidence of close cooperation between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein,
but the agency found no proof, according to an internal CIA intelligence
review.

Citing
9/11 [?!?], Bush defends Iraq war
Dictator Bush delivered an impassioned Fourth of July defense of war
in Iraq, declaring that the United States is "on the offensive
against terrorists and all who support them." More than two-dozen
U.S. troops have died in hostile action in Iraq since May 1 when Bush
declared major combat in Iraq was over and more than 60
have died overall.

It
may be a very rough ride if we go all the way with Bush
America has the technology to wipe all life from the face of the planet.
Maybe it will one day, writes Hugh Mackay. "Somehow, Bush manages
to balance his reputation as the most belligerent president [sic] the
US has ever produced with his claim to be a born-again Christian. Such
a cocktail of military might and religious fundamentalism is potentially
lethal, so what will be our response to this latest phase in Washington's
relentless development of weapons of mass destruction?...Unless
someone is prepared to call a halt to this crazy escalation, the black
masterminds of the US weapons program may eventually devise their own
'final solution'."

Force
down rogue state jets, say US, Australia
Australian and United States officials meeting in Brisbane next week
will discuss an aggressive military operation to force down aircraft
and board ships suspected of carrying prohibited weapons from North
Korea, Iran, Syria and Libya. But the proposals being pushed by Australia
and the US are expected to raise difficult questions of international
law and could provoke a military confrontation with countries like
North Korea.

Pentagon
Seeking New Access Pacts for Africa Bases
The United States military is seeking to expand its presence in the
Arab countries of northern Africa and in sub-Saharan Africa through
new basing agreements and training exercises intended to combat a growing
'terrorist threat' in the region.

US
retaliates over war crime immunity demand35
countries denied arms aid --In a further bid to place US officials
and military personnel beyond the reach of war crimes prosecution, the
Bush dictatorship cut off military aid to about 35 countries that failed
to meet a June 30 deadline for signing bilateral immunity agreements.

Malpractice
Bill is Likely to Lose Key Senate Vote
A bill that would impose strict limits on jury awards in medical malpractice
cases — a central element of Dictator Bush's plan to revamp tort law
— appears headed for defeat in the Senate, but the majority leader,
Bill Frist, intends to introduce the measure on Monday anyway, forcing
a vote that could be used against Democrats in the next election.
On Thursday, a group that opposes Dr. Frist's position called on
him to remove himself from the debate because
he and his family own substantial investments that would benefit from
limits on medical liability.

The
People Powering Howard
For many of the people behind "people-powered Howard", Howard Dean holds
much the same attraction as Howard Beale: They are mad as hell.
Their anger -- and as the Rockville event shows, you don't have to go
too far outside the Beltway to tap into it -- is aimed at Bush (they're
angry after Florida, even angrier after Iraq) and at establishment
Democrats for their perceived failure to stand up to the dictator.

Website
turns tables on government officials
Annoyed by the prospect of a massive new federal surveillance system,
two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are celebrating
the Fourth of July with a new Internet service that will let citizens
create dossiers on government officials.

The
Italian poisonerBerlusconi
is not just another rightwinger; he is a threat to democracy --by
Martin Jacques "Berlusconi is - and has been ever since his political
emergence in 1994 - the most dangerous political figure in Europe. This
has gone largely unrecognised. Tony Blair has been happy to consort
with Berlusconi and offer him the cloak of respectability in his various
attempts to build a pro-American axis against the French and Germans...
The Berlusconi regime represents a degenerate form of democracy: a halfway
state between democracy and a new form of totalitarianism that we have
not witnessed before."

Schools
ignore it - but is it time for the empire to strike back?History teachers urged to include imperial
past --More than three decades since the last pink-tinged maps of
the colonies were hauled down from classroom walls across Britain, the
empire looks like striking back. Leading historians addressing
the Prince of Wales summer school for English and history specialists
this week argued that Britain's imperial past has been ignored for too
long, and should be reinstated at the core of the secondary school curriculum.

Supreme
Court justice escapes injury
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor narrowly escaped injury on
Friday when a heavy frame surrounding a mural fell onto the dais where
she was sitting after receiving Philadelphia’s Liberty Medal. "We
could have all been killed," she exclaimed after the collapse,
which slightly injured a couple of people.

US
still at war in Iraq, says general
Two months after Dictator George Bush declared the end of major combat
in Iraq, the commander of coalition forces acknowledged that "we're
still at war" and United States soldiers suffered heavy casualties
in three separate guerilla attacks.

More
attacks on US troops in Iraq despite rewardUS offers $25m for Saddam Hussein, dead or alive --Another American
soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad and at least
19 were injured in a mortar attack as attacks against US forces in
Iraq showed no sign of abating.

U.S.
Soldier Killed, 20 Said Wounded in Iraq
One U.S. soldier was killed and 19 were wounded in two attacks in central
Iraq on Thursday night, while another was hurt in an explosion on Friday,
the U.S. military and witnesses said.

Attacks
Leave U.S. Soldier Dead, 18 Hurt
On a day in which the commander of U.S.-U.K. occupying forces in Iraq
acknowledged that the United States-led invaders in Iraq were still
at war, one soldier was killed and at least 28 wounded, including 18
in a mortar attack near the town of Balad, as American forces continued
to confront escalating violence throughout Iraq.[Note:
The New York Times has since removed this summary and article
and swapped it with a 'revised' story at the same URL. --ed.]

US
kills 11 ambushers in wake of attacks on soldiers
US troops killed 11 Iraqi insurgents who ambushed a convoy on a highway
north of Baghdad yesterday, the military said. Just hours earlier mortar
rounds slammed into a US base in the same area, wounding 18 American
soldiers. Another US soldier was shot and killed while guarding the
Baghdad museum.

Anger
Rises for Families of Troops in Iraq
Since major combat for the 150,000 troops in Iraq was declared over
on May 1, more than 60 Americans, including 25 killed in hostile encounters,
have died in Iraq, about half the number of deaths in the two months
of the initial campaign. Frustrations became so bad recently at Fort
Stewart, Ga., that a colonel, meeting with 800 seething spouses, most
of them wives, had to be escorted from the session.

Bush
gets earful for "bring them on" Iraq remark
As US forces battle in Iraq, US Dictator George W. Bush is taking fire
back home for what his Democratic opponents call "macho
rhetoric" that can only invite more guerrilla-style attacks
on American soldiers.

"Bring
'Em On?" --by Stan
Goff A Former Special Forces Soldier Responds to Bush's Invitation for
Iraqis to Attack US Troops --"This de facto president is finally
seeing his poll numbers fall. Even chauvinist paranoia has a half-life,
it seems... Now, exercising his one true talent--blundering--George
W. Bush has begun the improbable process of alienating the very troops
upon whom he depends to carry out the neo-con ambition of restructuring
the world by arms. Somewhere in Balad, or Fallujah, or Baghdad, there
is a soldier telling a new replacement, 'We are losing this war.'"

Britain
stirs, America sleeps --by
William Pfaff "...the culture of lies that prevails in the Bush
administration is an integral part of a larger culture of expedience
and systematic dishonesty that dominates the present leadership of American
political society and business. There is little reason to expect this
soon to change. Expedient lies have always been part of politics; and
American business, at its higher levels, has often been crooked, but
uneasily so, in conflict with the residual puritanism of the American
establishment."

CIA
used data from early and mid-1990s when assessing Iraq's WMDs for 2003
U.S. intelligence analysts lacked new, hard information about Saddam
Hussein's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons after United Nations
inspectors left Iraq in 1998, and so had to rely on data from the
early and mid-1990s when they concluded in months leading up to the
war that those programs continued into 2003, according to preliminary
findings of a CIA internal review panel. On another controversial Iraq
intelligence issue, the preliminary report indicates that although al
Qaeda and Hussein had a common enemy in the United States, and there
were some ties among individuals in the two camps, "it was not at
all clear there was any coordination or joint activities," said
one individual inside the CIA who is familiar with the report.

US
intelligence relied on old data in assessing Iraqi weapons
A CIA internal review panel has concluded that US intelligence analysts
lacked new, hard information about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
after UN inspectors left Iraq in 1998 and relied on data from the early
and mid-1990s in the run-up to the Iraq war, The Washington Post reported.

Blair's
spin-doctor admits tinkering with Iraq dossier
British Prime Minister Poodle Tony Blair's top aide, Alastair Campbell,
has admitted to tinkering with a security report seen as bolstering
the campaign for US-led action against Iraq, a confidential letter
published in a London newspaper showed.

BBC
launches inquiry into 'sexing up' story
The BBC was backing down last night in its row with the Government as
MPs looked likely to clear Alastair Campbell of the corporation's claim
that he "sexed up" a dossier on Iraq.

BBC
on defensive over dodgy dossier claim
The BBC has launched an internal inquiry into the way it reported allegations
that the British Government had doctored a dossier on Iraq's weapons
to strengthen the case for war.

Poland
seeks Iraqi oil stake Poland,
which has sent troops to support the US-led forces in Iraq, has acknowledged
its "ultimate objective" is to acquire supplies of Iraqi oil. The Polish
Foreign Minister, Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, said his country had never
disguised the fact that it sought direct access to the oilfields.

Japan
troops get Iraq go-ahead
Japan's powerful lower house has given the green-light to the nation's
biggest foreign military deployment since World War II, passing a law
that allows soldiers to be sent to assist in the rebuilding of Iraq.

U.S.
Vehicles Gain Iraq Role
Under pressure from Michigan lawmakers, the State Department says it
will no longer use foreign vehicles for the 'rebuilding effort'
in Iraq, Rep. Joe Knollenberg said yesterday.

U.S.
Forces Launch Fresh Afghan Operation
U.S. forces in Afghanistan have launched a fresh operation to root out
Taliban fighters and their allies from rugged territory near the border
with Pakistan. The operation, codenamed Haven Denial [?!?!],
was launched on Wednesday in Paktika and Khost provinces to the southeast
of the capital Kabul, the U.S. military said on Friday.

Bush
Sends Military Experts to Liberia
Dictator Bush is sending a team of military experts to Africa to assess
whether sending U.S. troops to Liberia would help bring stability to
the wartorn nation.

Bush
Advisers Divided Over Liberia Action
Liberian President Charles Taylor said Friday he would step down, but
only after an international peacekeeping force is deployed to his west
African nation. The moves comes as the Bush dictatorship struggles to
decide whether to send troops.

Anthrax
Probe Figure Worked for Pentagon
Even after he came under FBI scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks, Dr.
Steven J. Hatfill continued to teach Pentagon training sessions for
military personnel preparing to search for chemical and biological weapons
overseas.

Six
Detainees Soon May Face Military Trials
Dictator Bush today designated six captives suspected of involvement
in terrorism as eligible to be tried before military tribunals, setting
in motion the process that officials say will soon lead to the first
use of such tribunals by the United States in more than 50 years. "Things
will start to move rather quickly now," a senior military officer
said.

Bush
Says 6 'Terror Suspects' May Be Tried By Military Tribunal- Officials
Dictator Bush has designated six captives in what he has called the
'war on terrorism' as eligible to be tried before U.S. military commissions,
defense officials said on Thursday. Any trials are set to be held at
Guantanamo Bay. Charges set out in the Pentagon's instructions
for the trials could bring the death penalty.

Thousands
of smallpox shots unused
In the latest sign that the nation's smallpox vaccination program
has fallen short of expectations, public health officials in several
large states say they may end up throwing away more smallpox vaccine
than they have used.

Bush
Faulted for Jobless RateDemocrats
Blame Policies for Jump in Unemployment Level --Democrats pounced
on yesterday's sharp rise in the unemployment rate, attacking Dictator
Bush's "simplistic, knee-jerk tax cuts" as a policy failure and
claiming the dictator "doesn't have a clue" about how to fix
an economy that has lost 3.4 million
jobs since he took [literally, *took*] office.

Democrats
See Opening for Attack on Economy
The jump in the unemployment rate gave Democrats a new opening today
to attack Dictator Bush's 'management' of the economy and question the
effectiveness of his signature tax cuts. In strikingly similar terms,
many of the Democratic presidential candidates attacked Mr. Bush's policies
as misdirected and unfair.

Pinochet
generals admit exhumations
Eight retired army generals in Chile have acknowledged that secret graves
of people killed by the military regime were later dug up to dispose
of the bodies.

Report:
Fire Damages Japan Nuclear Plant
A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in central Japan Friday, after
the sound of an explosion was heard at the complex, media reported.
There was no immediate word on radiation leaks or casualties.

Berlusconi:
I Never Apologized to Germany
Premier Silvio Berlusconi insisted Friday he had never apologized to
Germany, saying he merely said he was sorry that his "joke" likening
a German lawmaker to a Nazi prison guard had been misunderstood.

Bush
Issues Taunt on Iraqi Attacks: 'Bring 'Em On'
Dictator Bush yesterday delivered a colloquial taunt to militants who
have been attacking U.S. troops in Iraq, saying "bring 'em on" and asserting
that the forces in Iraq are "plenty tough" to deal with the threat.
The colorful challenge by Bush provoked indignation from some congressional
Democrats, who said the dictator's bravado was inviting attacks on
U.S. soldiers.

Bush
to Iraqi militants: "Bring them on"
U.S. Dictator George W. Bush had a tough message on Wednesday for Iraqi
militants attacking U.S. troops -- "Bring them on" -- and said
the U.S. military presence was sufficient to deal with the attackers.
Democratic leaders were sharply critical of the remark. "I
am shaking my head in disbelief. When I served in the army in
Europe during World War II, I never heard any military commander --
let alone the commander in chief -- invite enemies to attack U.S. troops,"
said New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

8
U.S. soldiers injured in Iraq blasts
An Army truck hit an explosive west of Baghdad on Thursday injuring
six U.S. soldiers, and assailants in the capital wounded two other American
soldiers in separate attacks, U.S. military officials and witnesses
said. The violence comes a day after Dictator Bush vowed that anti-U.S.
attacks would not keep the United States from fulfilling its mission
in Iraq.

U.S.
troops face more attacks by Iraqis
An overnight blast at a mosque here killed at least four Iraqis and
wounded several others, fueling anti-American anger and prompting residents
to accuse the United States of launching an airstrike on the building.
Since Dictator Bush declared an end to major combat operations two months
ago, at least 728 members of U.S.-U.K.
occupation forces in Iraq have been wounded, according to Sergeant
Patrick Compton, a military spokesman in Baghdad. At least 154
of them have died in hostile actions and 75
have died in non-hostile actions, he said.

Straw
denies allies are in quagmire·
Foreign secretary's upbeat view contradicted by coalition officials
· BBC in fresh row over soldier's death --Jack Straw yesterday
claimed that the political and security situation in Iraq was improving,
in spite of attacks on US soldiers and sabotage of electricity and oil
supplies. The upbeat assessment by the foreign secretary - the highest-ranking
politician of the US-UK coalition to enter the centre of Baghdad since
the fall of Saddam Hussein - contrasted with views expressed by U.S.-U.K.occupying
officials on the ground.

Blackouts
Return, Deepening Iraq's Dark Days
Lack of Steady Electricity Is Biggest Obstacle to Reconstruction, Officials
Say Crippling blackouts have returned to the capital and the rest of
the country, impeding the restoration of public order and economic activity,
and creating a new focus of anger at the U.S. occupation.

BP
benefits from Iraq oil delays
The continued failure by America and Britain to get Iraqi oil exports
back on track will help BP report very strong second-quarter figures
and puts the oil firm on track for a near 35%
increase in annual profits.

U.S.
Offers $25M for Saddam Hussein's Capture
U.S. administrators announced a $25 million reward Thursday for information
leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein or confirmation of his death
- an effort to resolve the fate of the ousted Iraqi leader and help
end the violence blamed on his supporters.

'War
president [sic]' is a lost cause
--by John Farmer "Who says George W. Bush failed to make any post-
Iraq war plans? Of course he did. You think he's dumb or something?
[?!?!?!?] From the very beginning, our president [sic] knew exactly
what he'd do once the war was over -- he'd launch an all-courts, cross-country
fund-raising campaign to fuel his re-election effort. And he's been
as good as his word. It began with his landing, warrior-style (no
throwing up allowed here), on the carrier Abraham Lincoln to declare,
formally, that the fighting in Iraq was over. Done. Finished. Kaput.
Break out the champagne."

U.S.
Is Considering Sending Troops to Liberia
The Pentagon has ordered military planners to prepare detailed options
for American troops to join an international peacekeeping force to oversee
a cease-fire in the war-battered West African nation of Liberia, two
senior military officials said today. Officials said they are considering
sending 500 to 2,000 American troops, a number that will be determined
after a decision is made about the force's precise mission.

Kenyan
Women Accuse British Troops of Rape
A group of 650 Kenyan women who say they were sexually assaulted and
in many cases gang raped by British soldiers on military assignment
in their country won the right today to sue the Ministry of Defense
for compensation.

Judge:
Govt's case 'does not hold water' in holding 4
Four men accused of being part of a "jihad network" were granted bail
Wednesday. U.S. Magistrate T. Rawles Jones Jr. said none of the defendants
pose a threat to the community... "The government's argument that he
should be denied bond because of concerns for community safety simply
does not hold water," Jones said. The decision appeared to undermine
the government's terror-related claims in a 42-count indictment unsealed
last week.

4
Terror Suspects Ordered Released Pending TrialsA federal judge delivered an unusual rebuke to the Justice Department
in a major terrorism prosecution today, ruling that four men accused
of having links to a Kashmir terrorist group should be freed from custody
until their trials.

Tensions
rise as report on 9/11 failures is due out
A long-awaited report detailing intelligence failures leading up to
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks could be released as early as next week,
but it arrives amid rising political tensions and debates over declassifying
sensitive material.

Autopsy:
No Arabs on Flight 77 --by
Thomas R. Olmsted, M.D "I am an ex Naval line officer and a psychiatrist
in private practice in New Orleans, a Christian and homeschool dad.
It troubled me a great deal that we rushed off to war on the flimsiest
of evidence. I considered various ways to provide a smoking gun of who
and why Sept 11th happened. Astute observers noticed right away that
there were no Arabic sounding names on any of the flight manifests
of the planes that 'crashed' on that day."

Jobless
Rate Hits 6.4 Pct., 9-Year High
The nation's unemployment rate shot up to 6.4 percent in June, the highest
level in more than nine years, in an economic slump that has cost nearly
a million jobs in the last three
months.

Jobless
rate up to 6.4% Climb in
jobless rate worse than expected as employers cut another 30,000 jobs.
U.S. unemployment rose to its worst level in nine years in June
as businesses cut thousands of jobs, the government said Thursday.

Teachers
union plans lawsuit over federal funds
The nation's largest teachers union plans to sue the federal government
on behalf of states, school districts and teachers to amend or throw
out Dictator Bush's far-reaching education law.

Reaping
the whirlwindExtreme
weather prompts unprecedented global warming alert
--In an astonishing announcement on global warming and extreme weather,
the World Meteorological Organisation signalled last night that the
world's weather is going haywire. It is possible that 2003 will be the
hottest year ever recorded. The 10 hottest years in the 143-year-old
global temperature record have now all been since 1990, with the three
hottest being 1998, 2002 and 2001.

Republicans
Fight Davis RecallMarvin:
'This Is Not A Banana Republic' --A small group of Republicans plans
to raise money to oppose the recall of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, saying
it could lead to an "endless cycle of political instability."

Florida
GOP leaders at odds Florida
Senate President Jim King is questioning Gov. Jeb Bush's motives in
the governor's persistent campaign to cap medical malpractice jury awards,
charging Wednesday that his fellow Republican seems most interested
in ''getting even'' with old political foes.

Rescuing
Protest Before Bush '04Activists
Push Back at NYPD --by Chisun Lee "The Bush administration's
policies have roused hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to some of
the most heated agitation the city has seen in decades. Angry protesters
have claimed police are meeting these demonstrations with new heights
of repressiveness, amounting to a pattern of unfounded arrests and abuses.
Now, with an eye to the near future, they are pushing back. A look at
the activist scene today reveals a number of challenges that together
form a multipronged effort to free the streets. New Yorkers want
their right to protest to be as firmly entrenched as the police presence
will be come 2004 [for the Republican National Convention at Madison
Square Garden].

Dean's
Surge in Fund-Raising Forces Rivals to Reassess Him
Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor making his first bid for national
office, raised substantially more money this quarter than all his more
established opponents in the Democratic presidential contest, according
to figures released today.

Macho
America Storms Europe's Runways
A remarkable reversal of sentiment and symbolism has occurred
in the five months since designers here and in Milan and London, the
site of fervent antiwar rallies... in what was surely the first fashion
show to treat combat as performance art, Bernhard Willhelm, a designer
from Belgium, had beefy models in commando gear scramble over tabletops
and explode balloons. "I enjoyed the reaction of people," said Mr. Willhelm,
who had opposed the Iraq war. "They said, 'These guys really look like
they could take Saddam's palaces.'"

Government
Warns of Mass Hacker Attacks
The government and private technology experts warned Wednesday that
hackers plan to attack thousands of Web sites Sunday in a loosely coordinated
"contest" that could disrupt Internet traffic.

Berlusconi
apology heals rift over Nazi jibe
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder today said a diplomatic crisis with Italy
was over, after Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi apologised for telling
a German MEP that he should play a Nazi concentration camp guard in
a film.

U.S.
to Send Troops to Liberia
The Bush dictatorship has decided to send a "fast team" of U.S. forces
to Liberia to serve as peacekeepers, senior defense sources told Faux
News Wednesday. "We have the green light to do something in Liberia,
we are working on that something right now," a senior defense official
told Faux News.

Iraq's
resistance: A new Vietnam for the White
House? ...A more telling
sign of real US apprehensions is that Paul Bremer's press conferences,
at which he dispenses resolute optimism in the face of increasing scepticism
from journalists, take place at the National Convention Centre in central
Baghdad behind enormous fortifications of barbed wire and concrete blocks.

Huge
influx of troops sought to secure Iraq
Amid growing indications that some of the attacks against U.S. soldiers
in Iraq are organized and coordinated, the chief civilian administrator
and Army officers on the ground would like an increase of as many as
50,000 troops in the theater, according to knowledgeable sources.

Bremer
requests more troops as violence, tension escalate
...Donald Rumsfeld doesn't want to send more than the 146,000
American soldiers already in Iraq, and the issue is being fiercely debated,
the U.S. officials said. "It is inconceivable that Rumsfeld and (Deputy
Secretary of Defense Paul) Wolfowitz are fighting this because it would
mean admitting they were wrong," said a senior administration
official.

Grim
signs of guerrilla warCycle
of attack, counterattack suggests troubling Iraq scenario --Two
months after Dictator Bush declared major combat over in Iraq, stealthy
enemies are still firing at American soldiers, killing 25 so far. The
pattern of attack and counterattack looks like classic
guerrilla warfare, in which a weaker foe attacks in the place
of his choosing, then melts into the population.

Soldier
dies from wounds in Iraq
A U.S. soldier wounded in one of two ambushes near Baghdad Tuesday died
from his wounds on Wednesday, and Iraqi resistance fighters intent on
stealing oil caused leaks that shut down one of Iraq’s main oil pipelines.
Despite daily attacks on U.S.-U.K. occupying troops that have led some
to fear a political and military quagmire, U.S. and British politicians
vowed to stay the course in Iraq.

US
soldiers injured after Iraqis blame army for mosque attack
At least six American soldiers were wounded yesterday in the rising
tide of anti-US violence in Iraq. And US forces were blamed for
a blast at a mosque in the troubled town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad,
which killed 10 Iraqis, including the imam who was preaching when the
explosion happened on Monday night.

Bush:
We won't be chased from Iraq
Dictator Bush said Tuesday that the United States will not be intimidated
by attacks on its troops in Iraq, and he vowed to press the fight until
peace and stability [?!?] are restored to that country.

Bush
to Iraqi Militants: 'Bring Them On'
Dictator Bush on Wednesday had a tough message for Iraqi militants attacking
U.S. troops -- "Bring them on" -- and said the U.S. military presence
was sufficient to deal with the attackers.

Union
goes to war with LabourCabinet
branded 'criminals' on Iraq --Tony
Blair and his cabinet were branded "war criminals" yesterday
as an organisation that gave birth to the Labour party faced expulsion
in an historic split with the government.

Microsoft
Word bytes Tony Blair in the butt
--by Richard M. Smith "Back in February 2003, 10 Downing Street
published a dossier on Iraq's security and intelligence organizations.
This dossier was cited by Colin Powell in his address to the United
Nations the same month. Dr. Glen Rangwala, a lecturer in politics at
Cambridge University, quickly discovered that much of the material in
the dossier
was actually plagiarized from a U.S. researcher on Iraq... Revision
logs are hidden and cannot be viewed in Microsoft Word. However I wrote
a small utility for extracting and displaying revision logs and other
hidden information in Word .DOC files... It is easy to spot the following
four names in the revision log of the Blair dossier: P. Hamill,
J. Pratt, A. Blackshaw, M. Khan --In addition,
the 'cic22' in the first three entries of the revision log stands
for 'Communications Information Centre,' a unit of the British
Government."

In
Korea, a quiet US weapons buildupThe
US is now sending $11 billion in high-tech
equipment - part of a redesign of the South's defense. As the US
prepares to reduce and redeploy troops that have long guarded the DMZ
in South Korea, it is also sending a huge array of state-of-the-art
military equipment onto a peninsula confronting a nuclear crisis.

US
cuts aid over ICC immunity refusals
The United States has cut military aid to 35 countries over their refusal
to exempt US troops from prosecution by the new International Criminal
Court (ICC).

While
'Looking at All Options,' Bush Again Tells Liberian to QuitDictator Bush said today he was "looking
at all options" to bring peace to Liberia, and that it was essential
that President Charles Taylor leave the country. Asked if he would rule
out American troops going to Liberia, Mr. Fleischer replied, "I'm not
ruling it out."

Another
detainee dies in US custody in Afghanistan
--by Rick Kelly "Not only has the US failed to recognise the basic
democratic rights of detainees or to provide any explanation for three
recent deaths in custody in Afghanistan, but the CIA is known to 'render'
prisoners to third countries such as Jordan and Egypt for torture under
US supervision. Moreover, as the US-based Human Rights Watch recently
noted, officials in countries with a record of torturing prisoners now
counter criticisms by declaring that they are acting no differently
to the Bush administration."

Subject
of Anthrax Inquiry Tied to Anti-Germ Training
Three years ago, the United States began a secret project to train Special
Operations units to detect and disarm mobile germ factories of the sort
that Iraq and some other countries were suspected of building, according
to Bush regime officials and experts in germ weaponry... Officials familiar
with the secret project say that to design an American version of a
mobile germ unit, the government
turned to Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, then a rising star in the world
of biological defense but more recently publicly identified by the Justice
Department as "a person of interest" in the anthrax investigation.

Travel
Industry Opposes Anti-Terror Rules
A travel industry trade group is campaigning against new federal rules
aimed at preventing foreign terrorists from entering the country, warning
that the measures would hurt tourism and do little to enhance security.

Final
OK near for plan to give campus police broader powers
Under legislation that's headed for Gov. Ed Rendell's desk, campus police
from Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities would have the power
to respond to incidents involving their students at bars in town or
apartments near campus, and would be allowed to go off-campus during
all police chases.

GOP's
Rowland sends subpoenas to legislators
Republican Gov. John G. Rowland [CT] has demanded immediate passage
of a budget, and issued what he called "subpoenas"
to call the General Assembly into special session today to resume the
debate. But Democratic leaders and state officials said those documents,
which Rowland had delivered by a dozen uniformed state troopers,
had no legal authority. The state Senate’s top Democrat, Kevin B. Sullivan
of West Hartford, claimed that Rowland’s actions were creating "a
police state environment" that made the budget situation
worse.

Recall
chief held twice on illegal gun chargesIssa
convicted in '70s on misdemeanor count --Rep. Darrell Issa, within
months of leaving Army service in the early 1970s, was arrested twice
on illegal-weapons charges, including an incident in Michigan that led
to a misdemeanor gun conviction, The Chronicle has learned. Issa's weapons
arrests have come under new scrutiny as the millionaire San Diego County
Republican attempts to oust Gov. Gray Davis in an unprecedented recall
campaign.

Sierra
Club Targets Bush on Environment
The Sierra Club launched a television ad Tuesday critical of the Bush
dictatorship's environmental policies, targeting some of the first issues
ads of the 2004 presidential campaign in six swing states.

Willie
Nelson Endorses Kucinich
[kucinich.us
announcement --scroll to 'Dennis In Action' box on page] "One of
the most beloved figures in popular music and culture has endorsed the
populist presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich."

NEWS:
Black Box Voting -- we found the hack. S.O.S.
(Bev Harris post to Democratic Underground discussion forum) "Lawyers
have been engaged. We are now working with the level of attorneys who
protect activists from the government, in high profile cases. We will
henceforth be following the advice of counsel. What was on that Diebold
ftp site? I'm told that the identified files are the equivalent of the
Pentagon Papers, perhaps worse. Bev Harris, Black Box Voting, http://www.blackboxvoting.com"

EU
OKs Tough New Rules on Biotech FoodsSeeking
to avoid a trade battle with Washington, the European Parliament
on Wednesday paved the way for new biotech foods to be sold in Europe
if they are clearly labeled.

Berlusconi
Nazi Comment Triggers Outrage
His country now leading the European Union, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi
provoked an uproar Wednesday at the EU parliament by telling a German
lawmaker he should star as a Nazi concentration camp guard in a movie.

Italy
sparks row on first day at EU helm
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's controversial prime minister, who takes over
the European Union presidency for the next six months, turned his fire
on France and Germany by warning that Europe must not try to compete
as a power block with the United States. Mr Berlusconi was one of
the staunchest supporters of the US-led war on Iraq, along with
Tony Blair and the Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar.

MEPs'
fury at Berlusconi's Nazi jibe
The controversial Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, today assumed
the EU council presidency, and immediately provoked furious controversy
saying a German MEP should take a film role as a Nazi concentration
camp leader.

US-based
missiles to have global reachAllies
to become less important as new generation of weapons enables America
to strike anywhere from its own territory --Over the next 25 years,
the new technology would free the US from dependence on forward bases
and the cooperation of regional allies, part of the drive towards
self-sufficiency spurred by the difficulties of gaining international
cooperation for the invasion of Iraq.

America
to build super weaponsUS-based
missiles to cover world --The Pentagon is planning a new generation
of weapons, including huge hypersonic drones and bombs dropped from
space, that will allow the US to strike its enemies at lightning speed
from its own territory.

Pentagon
Reveals Secret Bio, Chem TestsThe Pentagon used potentially dangerous chemical and biological agents
in 50 secret tests involving military personnel in a decadelong
project to measure the weapons' combat capabilities, according to a
Pentagon findings released Monday.

Bush
'indicted' over war crimes
A group of Japanese lawyers unveiled documents Monday "indicting" U.S.
Dictator George W. Bush for war crimes allegedly committed against the
Afghan people since the United States-led coalition began its antiterrorism
campaign in Afghanistan in October 2001. They said the indictment will
be handed to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo next week.

U.S.
May Cut Aid Over Court ImmunityAbout
35 Nations Could Lose Funds --The Bush dictatorship, intent on exempting
U.S. citizens from prosecution by the International Criminal Court,
is drawing fresh accusations of diplomatic heavy-handedness by threatening
to cut off military aid to dozens of allies that refuse to sign immunity
deals with the United States.

US
condemned over Iraq rights
A leading human rights group has criticised US treatment of detainees
in Iraq, as the UN opened a workshop focusing on abuses committed by
the regime of Saddam Hussein. Amnesty International has warned that
the "conditions of detention Iraqis are held under... may amount
to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, banned by international
law".

Iraqi
details harsh treatment as Amnesty criticizes U.S. interrogation methods
--An Iraqi businessman detained during a raid on his home says U.S.
interrogators deprived him of sleep, forced him to kneel naked and kept
him bound hand and foot with a bag over his head for eight days.
Khraisan al-Abally's story, told to an Associated Press correspondent,
comes as an Amnesty International report released Monday harshly criticizes
American interrogation techniques.

'American
troops in Iraq deserve to die'
American forces today continued with their co-ordinated raids against
Iraqi guerrilla forces, even as hostile relatives of one arrested suspect
gave warning that all US soldiers in Iraq "deserve to die".

Blast
at mosque kills at least 6 IraqisInterpreter
dies, 4 U.S. soldiers wounded in Baghdad attacks --Iraqis at
the scene said a U.S. missile or bomb caused the blast... One witness
said the United States attacked the mosque: "After late prayers
we heard the shaking in the mosque. We heard a helicopter overhead and
a whooshing sound, and then the building was destroyed."

6
U.S. troops wounded in IraqIraqi
resistance fighters strike soldiers in Baghdad; Blast rocks Fallujah
mosque --Six American soldiers were wounded in three separate attacks
in Iraq on Tuesday and a massive explosion in a mosque in the troubled
town of Fallujah reportedly killed several Iraqis. As the country
appeared to simmer with anti-American sentiment, the chief U.S.
administrator in Iraq sought to deflect criticism that opposition to
the U.S.-led occupation was on the rise.

U.S.
Troops Attacked Again in Iraq, Blast Hits Mosque
Six more American soldiers were wounded in Iraq on Tuesday and a fatal
blast at a mosque fueled Muslim anger toward U.S. forces, all within
hours of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisting Iraq was no new
Vietnam.

No
Vietnam: Rumsfeld denial while toll rising
Baghdad: Four US soldiers were reported killed and two wounded in an
attack in Baghdad yesterday... The violence continued hours after the
US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had denied that US-led forces
in Iraq faced a Vietnam-style
guerilla war.

Rumsfeld
Says Iraq No Quagmire or Guerrilla War
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday remnants of toppled
President Saddam Hussein's government have coalesced into a "terrorist
network" in Iraq, but rejected the notion that U.S. and British forces
are facing a guerrilla war or are stuck in a quagmire. Rumsfeld
also accused some members of the news media, who he did not identify,
of hoping Iraq becomes another Vietnam.

Third
International Division Possible in Iraq
A third international division- sized unit could possibly be stood up
in Iraq in the future, DoD officials said during a press conference
today... Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld mentioned editorial cartoons
showing the news media asking, "Is it Vietnam
yet?"

Mistrust
Mixes With Misery In Heat of Baghdad Police PostFrustrated
Reservists See a Mission Impossible --"U.S. officials need to get
our [expletive] out of here," said the 43-year-old reservist from Pittsburgh,
who arrived in Iraq with the 307th Military Police Company on May 24.
"I say that seriously. We have no business being here. We will
not change the culture they have in Iraq, in Baghdad. Baghdad is so
corrupted. All we are here is potential people to be killed and sitting
ducks."

Poll:
Support for Iraq war slippingConflict
doesn't resemble Vietnam, Rumsfeld says --As a new poll shows Americans
are taking a dimmer view of U.S.-led occupation efforts in Iraq, Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday that the fighting there would
continue "for some time."

Poll
Says Most Believe Hussein-9/11 Link
Seven in 10 people in a poll say the Bush dictatorship implied that
Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein were involved in the Sept. 11 attacks
against the United States. Only four in 10 of those polled, 39 percent,
said they thought the government was being fully truthful when it presented
evidence of links between Saddam and al-Qaida.

MP
shoots down WMD report
A leading member of the foreign affairs select committee today dismissed
its forthcoming report into the government's claims about Iraqi weapons,
saying it would not be able to come to any "definitive conclusions"...
The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, slammed the prime minister
for failing to give evidence to the committee.

No
10 scales down attack against BBC over dossier
Downing Street yesterday denied it has called a "truce" in its battle
with the BBC, but signalled it will now tone down its claim that
the broadcaster falsely accused it of doctoring the Iraq dossier.

No
'truce' in Iraq dossier row
Downing Street has denied declaring a "truce" in its row with the BBC
over the government's Iraq dossier. The BBC has refused to apologise
for its report that a senior intelligence official had said last September's
Iraq dossier was "sexed up" at Downing Street's request.

Just
How Dodgy Is the Sexy Dossier?Iraq:
Why Blair is still on the rack --by Oonagh Blackman "If the
45-minute claim is true, why were WMDs not used and why have they not
been found in the months since coalition troops entered Iraq? Why are
Labour activists claiming Cabinet minister John Reid said the 45-minute
threat was 'more like 48 hours'? ...Why is No 10 threatening to sue
the BBC for using a single uncorroborated source for its claim the September
dossier was 'sexed up' when one of its own ministers admits the 45-minute
claim also came from a 'single, uncorroborated source'?"

The
BBC is standing up for a special British principleThe
corporation is not run by politicians. We need to keep it that way
--by Hugo Young "The BBC lives off a textured public understanding
of this that took decades to embed in the national culture. No one else
has reproduced it. In the US, Murdoch's Fox News sent wave after wave
of bombers live into Baghdad accompanied by the national anthem. Patriotism
before truth was the networks' guiding star, and even the panjandrums
of the print were scared to crack it."

Cheney
And The CIA: Not Business As Usual
--by Ray McGovern "As though this were normal! I mean the repeated
visits Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney made to the CIA before the war
in Iraq. The visits were, in fact, unprecedented. During my 27-year
career at the Central Intelligence Agency, no vice president ever came
to us for a working visit... Did the president [sic] himself know that
the information used to secure congressional approval for war was based
on a forgery? We don't know. But which would be worse - that he knew
or that he didn't?"

A
Crack In Bush's Facade
--by Ted Rall Growing WMD Scandal Could Lead to Impeachment "Bush
lied about the weapons of mass destruction. He lied to us, the United
Nations, and the soldiers he sent to die in Iraq. Bush's apologists
defend his attempts to sell this obscene war as mere spin, but claiming
certain knowledge of something that doesn't exist is hardly a question
of emphasis... Lying to the American people is impeachable. Waging war
without cause is subject to prosecution at the International War Crimes
Tribunal in The Hague."

The
Attack Has Been Spectacular
--by Maureen Farrell "Despite ample evidence that Bush misled the
nation into a pre-planned war (and denounced anyone who tried to paint
a realistic portrait of the aftermath), sets of razor-sharp teeth that
bared for the slightest Clinton transgression have rescinded, and assorted
bootlickers are now busily concocting doozies to cushion the Deceiver
in Chief from blame."

As
2004 Nears, Bush Pins Slump on Clinton
With the start of his reelection campaign in the past two weeks, Dictator
Bush has revived his pastime of blaming his predecessor, Bill
Clinton, for the economic recession. The recession officially began
in March of 2001 -- two months after Bush was sworn in -- according
to the universally acknowledged arbiter of such things, the National
Bureau of Economic Research.

Amazon
Destruction Jumps, Shocks Environmentalists
The deforestation rate in Brazil's Amazon, the world's largest jungle,
has jumped 40 percent, sparking alarm on Thursday among environmentalists
and a promise by the government to launch emergency measures.

Unprecedented
police-state measures passed by Australian parliament
--by Mike Head and Richard Hoffman "With the support of the Labor
Party, the Howard government last week succeeded in pushing through
the Australian parliament an unprecedented piece of legislation giving
the government’s political police the sort of arbitrary power normally
associated with fascist regimes or military juntas. Under the ASIO Terrorism
Act, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation now has the power
to detain and question people without charge or trial."

BBC
has fresh details to support its dossier claim
The BBC will present fresh details about how the Iraqi weapons dossier
was allegedly "sexed up'' by Downing Street and accuse Alastair
Campbell of giving "inaccurate'' evidence to the official inquiry into
the affair. According to senior sources, the corporation has decided
at the highest level not to give in to the relentless pressure from
the Government.

Admission
on Niger claimBritain
was forced to admit yesterday that one of the central allegations
against Iraq in last September's disputed weapons dossier was based
on information from an overseas intelligence service rather than a British
primary source. In a blow to the government's credibility, a
Foreign Office mandarin admitted that a claim that Iraq had tried to
procure nuclear material from an African country had come "from a foreign
service".

Who
Lost the WMD?As the
weapons hunt intensifies, so does the finger pointing. A preview
of the coming battle --Did U.S. intelligence officials—or their civilian
bosses—overstate the evidence of weapons before the war? And if some
intelligence officials expressed skepticism about WMD, who ignored them?
For the past several weeks, the usually lockstep Bush Dictatorship
has done its best to maintain a unified front in the face of these queries.

Was
it a high crime? --by Daniel
Meltzer "If President [sic] Bush launched a lethal war, one whose
ultimate domestic and global consequences still cannot be foreseen,
on the basis of evidence he either knew was false or about which he
should have been judiciously skeptical, then in the words of Mr. Bush's
own father, former President George H. W. Bush, 'this cannot stand,'
and he should resign or be impeached."

Scandal
lurks in shadow of Iraq evidence
--by Diane Carman "Several members of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
including Democrats Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill.,
told The New Republic that they knew that evidence contradicting the
Bush administration's claims had been concealed, but they were unable
to reveal it because it was classified. Still, Congress, which spent
$80 million to prove that, yes, Bill Clinton did have sexual relations
with that woman, has yet to order an investigation."

Ten
Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq
--by Christopher Scheer "The mainstream press, after an astonishing
two years of cowardice, is belatedly drawing attention to the unconscionable
level of administrative deception. They seem surprised to find that
when it comes to Iraq, the Bush administration isn't prone to the occasional
lie of expediency but, in fact, almost never told the truth."

Lawmakers
Want International Forces in Iraq
An international force of up to 60,000 troops is needed in Iraq to halt
the continuing violence, which will escalate if left unchecked, U.S.
Sen. Joseph Biden warned on Sunday.

Troops'
deaths laid to U.S. fireAir
Force jet is faulted in incident that killed up to 9 Marines in Iraq;
Perhaps worst such error of war; Victims' families still wait for official
notification --A military investigation has concluded that fire from
an Air Force warplane was responsible for killing up to nine Marines
in March when it mistakenly attacked the armored vehicle they were riding
in during a firefight in southern Iraq, according to senior defense
officials.

American
Forces Carry Out Raids in Central Iraq
American forces carried out an aggressive series of predawn raids across
central Iraq today, aiming to root out groups that have been attacking
American and British soldiers and to project an intimidating display
of power.

US
strikes at Iraqi resistanceUS
forces have launched a major offensive against resistance fighters in
central Iraq. 'Operation Sidewinder' began with more than 20 simultaneous
raids involving aircraft, armoured vehicles and infantry in an area
north of the capital, Baghdad, along the River Tigris.

Two
U.S. troops wounded in Iraqi attack
Two American troops were wounded and an Iraqi civilian was killed in
an attack on a U.S. military convoy early Sunday on a road leading to
Baghdad International Airport, the military said, the latest in a string
of attacks that has left more than 200 Americans dead since the war
began.

Iraqi
soldiers protest at UK base
Disgruntled former Iraqi soldiers have protested outside British Army
headquarters in Basra to demand their pay for the last three months.

Abizaid
to replace Tommy Franks
The Senate on Friday confirmed Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid to replace
Gen. Tommy Franks as head of U.S. Central Command, a position that includes
responsibility for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Straw
presses Iran on nuclear fears
The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, has begun his visit to Iran by urging
the country's rulers to allow more inspections of their nuclear sites.

Freedom
fightersCelebrities
are paying a high price for speaking out against the war on Iraq.
--by Gerald Wright "Within a month of September 11, the US Government
had voted itself sweeping new powers of investigation, surveillance
and detention, selectively applying the rules of war to its own and
foreign nationals. Since then, expressions of disquiet have been heard
from across American public life, including Hollywood and the music
scene. But there have been repercussions."

CodePink
Women in San Francisco and Los Angeles, delivered Bush a 'Pink
Slip' as he dropped in on California to collect his payback from
the profits of military spending and tax cuts. (Codepink: Women for
Peace Press Release) "In Los Angeles, the women of CODEPINK hung
a 45 foot satin 'pink slip' reading 'Bush/You Lied/You're Fired' off
the Century Plaza Hotel while Bush collected his booty in the ballroom
below."

Readiness
for attack is lacking, study finds
Responders need funds, equipment Nearly two years after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, the United States remains ''dangerously unprepared''
to handle another catastrophic attack, according to a study by the Council
on Foreign Relations. The council, a private New York-based world affairs
advocacy organization, recommended spending $98
billion beyond the $27 billion
it said the federal government planned to spend on first responders
over the next five years.

Gov't
Still Napping As New 9/11 Looms
A frightening new report claims America is "dangerously unprepared"
to cope with another terror attack like 9/11. The report by the Council
on Foreign Relations contends the United States needs to spend another
$98 billion to brace for an attack
- a figure that the federal Department of Homeland Security insisted
was "grossly inflated."

Tensions
rise as report on 9/11 failures is due out
A long-awaited report detailing intelligence failures leading up to
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks could be released as early as next week,
but it arrives amid rising political tensions and debates over declassifying
sensitive material.

Sept.
11 Families to Sue Port Authority
Families of Sept. 11 victims will file a lawsuit Monday against the
Port Authority to obtain greater public scrutiny in the rebuilding of
the former World Trade Center site.

Ridge
May Move Up in Succession List
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge could move up to eighth in the
line of presidential succession, leapfrogging 10 other Cabinet members
in a congressional effort to better prepare for a catastrophic attack
on Washington.

Bush,
Looking to His Right, Shores Up Support for 2004
A systematic effort by Dictator Bush to enlist members of his party's
conservative wing in the White House, and to champion touchstone
conservative issues, has produced a unified base of support for him
from this sometimes wayward faction of the Republican Party, conservative
leaders say.

Senate
Leader Backs Ban on Gay Marriage
The Senate majority leader said Sunday he supported a proposed constitutional
amendment to ban homosexual marriage in the United States. Sen. Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., said the Supreme Court's decision last week on gay sex
threatens to make the American home a place where criminality is condoned.

Bush's
War On WomenThe Bush
Administration has stepped up its war against women, with remote,
impoverished Nepal the epic center of the attack. --by Frederick Sweet
"The numbers of women and girls dying from AIDs will continue to
climb in Nepal and in most other Third World countries because of Bush
administration policies. Each day, at least six women die in Nepal from
unsafe abortions performed by unskilled providers..."

States
Consider Closing Historic Sites
Joan Ces and her 7-year-old son came all the way from California to
see early American history, but when they reached the oldest stone house
in New England [in CT], it was closed. The reason: state
budget cuts.

Communities
Pinched by AmeriCorps Cuts
The problem-plagued federal agency that oversees the program recently
cut payments to many of the more than 2,000 groups it supports.
The groups say hundreds of activities may have to shut down unless the
government provides emergency funds to AmeriCorps.

Florida
visits to be lucrative for Bush
War chest far bigger than Graham's --Florida Republicans today will
add their millions to Dictator Bush's fast-growing campaign account,
kicking the Bush family's political machine into gear for the fourth
straight election cycle with fundraisers in Miami and Tampa.

Oblivious
in D.C. --by Bob Herbert
"Those who still believe that the policies of the Bush administration
will set in motion some kind of renaissance in Iraq should take a look
at what's happening to the quality of life for ordinary Americans here
at home. The president [sic], buoyed by the bountiful patronage of the
upper classes, seems indifferent to the increasingly harsh struggles
of the working classes and the poor. As Mr. Bush moves from fund-raiser
to fund-raiser, building the mother of all campaign stockpiles, states
from coast to coast are reaching depths of budget desperation unseen
since the Great Depression."

Are
U.S. journalists truly spineless?
--by David Hundter "Are American journalists spineless? Or have
the people who once wielded the editorial sword with such class and
power caved in to the bean counters who run the media conglomerates?
Either way, we have failed, and it's only going to get worse unless
individual journalists begin to stand up and reclaim our place as the
guardians of liberty. Once upon a time in this country, not so very
long ago, every town of any size had at least two daily newspapers and
weeklies that did more than just carry coupons and advertisements."

A
hard line on BushThe
US media don't ask many awkward questions of their leaders - except
on the funnies page. Steve Bell has just returned from a cartoonists'
convention in Pittsburgh where he discovered that now, more than ever,
America needs the keepers of its conscience. "The net result of
this timorousness, which is not exclusive to the New York Times by any
means, is that Bush gets away with lies and murder while the press beats
itself up about the ethics of Jayson Blair... I'm sure things will change
in this vast country, which on one level seems to have its head so far
up its own arse that it can't see the Bush for the brownies; it's too
dynamic not to, and it will move in its own mysterious way in spite
of the best efforts of Fox and the Bush junta."

Nader
considering another try at White House in 2004
Ralph Nader, still blamed by many Democrats for draining critical
votes from Al Gore in the 2000 race for the presidency, says he
is seriously considering running in 2004... Nader acknowledges he could
harm the Democrats' chances of winning the White House.

Donations
to Dean Campaign Surge
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean (D) announced yesterday that he
has raised more than $6 million in the second quarter of this year,
an achievement many of his competitors privately conceded will add new
credibility to his insurgent bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The
Fire This Time: Why Kucinich May be the Right Guy at the Right Time --by Daniel Patrick Welch "Kucinich
may be the only guy who can win this election. Sounds far-fetched, right?
What the Brits would call Loony Left delusional thinking. The U.S. press
would just ignore the whole thing, naturally, until it's no longer possible.
Just plain crazy. But is it?"

Ministers
knew war papers were forged, says diplomatUS
official who identified documents incriminating Iraq as fakes says Britain
must have been aware of findings --A high-ranking American official
who investigated claims for the CIA that Iraq was seeking uranium to
restart its nuclear programme last night accused Britain and the US
of deliberately ignoring his findings to make the case for war
against Saddam Hussein.

BBC
set to sue Minister over Iraq 'lies' claimLegal
threat deepens crisis over weapons dossiers --The unprecedented
row between the Government and the BBC took a dramatic twist last night
when Andrew Gilligan, the reporter at the centre of claims that Number
10 deliberately 'sexed up' evidence against Saddam Hussein, announced
he was ready to sue a serving Minister.

Commons
committee poised to back Campbell in row with BBC
Alastair Campbell is on the point of scoring a significant victory in
his campaign to force the BBC to back down over allegations that he
misused material from the intelligence services. The committee is likely
to reject a BBC allegation that intelligence reports were "sexed up"
by Mr Campbell's Downing Street staff to strengthen the case for war.

Iraq's
resistance war was planned
The bodies of two missing American soldiers were found yesterday as
news emerged that a growing campaign of Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-U.K.
occupation may have been planned before the war began.

War
is not over yet, warns USFresh
wave of military fatalities as deteriorating security situation threatens
aid programme --The United States warned yesterday that the war
in Iraq was not yet over.

US
forces launch massive new operation in Iraq
The operation, dubbed "Desert Sidewinder", was taking place in
a huge swath of central Iraq stretching from the Iranian border to the
areas north of Baghdad, and was expected to last for several days, military
officials said.

U.S.
Sweeps Central Iraq in Campaign to Stem Resistance
U.S. forces launched a massive operation early Sunday to crush insurgents
and capture senior figures from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime, arresting
more than 60 in a show of force designed to stem a wave of deadly attacks
on U.S. troops.

Paras
storm town where mob killed British soldiers
The roar of tank engines and the clatter of helicopters echoed across
the mudhouses of Majar-al-Kabir yesterday as the British Army returned
in force to the town where six soldiers died last week at the hands
of an Iraqi mob.

Iraqi
killed, two US soldiers wounded in attack
An Iraqi civilian was killed and two US military police were wounded
in Baghdad today when an explosion targeted a US convoy, the latest
in a series of hit-and-run strikes on occupation forces.

Boy's
Killing Fuels Anti-U.S. Anger in Baghdad
Around 10 p.m. Thursday, Mohammed Kubaisi, 12, was fatally shot in the
chest on the roof of his home in Baghdad by a U.S. soldier. Those are
the only facts on which the Kubaisi family and the U.S. military agree.

Contaminated
Nuclear Barrel Swap Launched in Iraq
Environmental group Greenpeace launched a campaign Saturday to give
Iraqis clean water barrels in exchange for contaminated containers they
have been using which were looted from a nuclear complex.

Missiles:
Return to SenderA cache
of missiles that were made in the United States found in Iraq (June
9 issue) Bush regime officials say that U.S. intelligence agencies and
the Pentagon expected that American troops in Iraq would stumble across
all kinds of lethal and “dual use” equipment made by Western companies
as they comb through the wreckage of Saddam Hussein’s military-industrial
complex.

Once
Hailed, Soldiers in Iraq Now Feel Blame at Each Step"Don't talk to me about Saddam Hussein,"
snapped Ibrahim Aullaiwi, a 46-year-old shop owner in the poor neighborhood
of New Baghdad. "The Americans are in charge of everything here. They
could have brought generators in here within 24 hours."

And
now for the really big gunsWar
is one thing, but can Iraq survive full-on assault by Wall Street?
Ed Vulliamy and Faisal Islam report "After the war, the corporate
invasion... Despite the worsening security situation, the White House
and Pentagon are marshalling these corporate battalions into Iraq -
insurance companies, construction firms, commercial health managers
and behemoth banks - in the name of free enterprise. The project: to
privatise Iraq, a country where
30 per cent of the workforce is employed by the state, and the population
is used to food rations and cheap petrol."

Bureau
of Iraqi Affairs? --by
Travis Snell "On Jan. 23, about two months before the United States
and United Kingdom armed forces began bombing and invading Iraq, Secretary
of State Colin Powell said Iraq’s oil 'belongs to the Iraqi people'
and the United States would hold Iraqi oil reserves in trust if (when)
it occupied Iraq after a war. Powell also said Iraqi oil 'will not be
exploited for the United States’ own purpose.' He said... Iraq’s oil
fields... 'will be held in trust for the Iraqi people, to benefit the
Iraqi people.' My only thoughts when I read that, 'Good luck Iraq. You’re
going to need it if the United States holds your oil in trust. Native
Americans must be laughing everywhere.'"

Errand
Boy --by Chris Floyd "So
now we know. After all the mountains of commentary and speculation,
all the earnest debates over motives and goals, all the detailed analyses
of global strategy and political ideology, it all comes to down to this:
George W. Bush waged war on Iraq because, in his own words, God 'instructed
me to strike at Saddam.'"

Nothing
but lip service (Army Times) "In recent months, President
[sic] Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have missed no opportunity
to heap richly deserved praise on the military. But talk is cheap —
and getting cheaper by the day, judging from the nickel-and-dime treatment
the troops are getting lately. For example, the White House griped that
various pay-and-benefits incentives added to the 2004 defense budget
by Congress are wasteful and unnecessary — including a modest proposal
to double the $6,000 gratuity paid to families of troops who die on
active duty. This comes at a time when Americans continue to die in
Iraq at a rate of about one a day."

Suddenly,
America has a brash neighbor up north"We
look at you Americans and see the [National Rifle Association], rigged
elections, Christian fundamentalists, and pre-emptive wars," says Michael
Adams, author of the best-selling "Fire and Ice: The United States,
Canada and the Myth of Converging Values." By contrast, Canada is a
place that prizes "peace, order, and good government." It's "a social
welfare state where we raise taxes to pay for transit, housing, and
more," he says.

GOP
silent on aid formula rationaleDemocrats
want documents on shared revenue --Frustrated Democrats say Republicans
are preventing a state agency from releasing documents that would explain
GOP changes to Wisconsin's formula for doling out state aid to cities
and towns. By law, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau cannot release such
documents unless legislators who request the research give their permission,
and the Republicans have refused.

Out
of controlIf it's allowed
to stand, an FCC ruling will feed media merger mania --by Bill Clinton
"'It's your money,' says President [sic] Bush when he promotes
tax cuts. I disagree with his tax policy but admire his spin. The same
argument applies with greater force to whether big media conglomerates
should be allowed to control more television and radio stations: 'It's
your airwaves.'... We shouldn't give up our right to have more choice."

$6
Million! And 45 Hours to Go
(Dean for
America Blog) "As of last Sunday morning, June 22, the Dean
for America campaign had raised $3.2 million in this quarter. Since
that morning--beginning with the Sunday Meet The Press interview, through
our announcement of candidacy, continuing with our victory in the MoveOn
primary and through Saturday June 28th--we have experienced an unprecedented
surge in contributions, and have now crossed the $6 million dollar mark."

Bioweapon
labs will bring threat of lethal viruses to urban America
A network of high-security laboratories for storing and investigating
some of the most lethal viruses known to mankind is being built
across the US, leaving communities in uproar. They not only fear the
risk of the viruses escaping, but also contend that the programme, part
of the $6bn (£3.5bn) Project BioShield, is a stunning case of overkill.

GM
threatens a superweed catastropheGenetically
modified farming will lead to a new generation of herbicide-resistant
crops which could devastate the countryside, says English Nature. English
Nature has warned ministers to prepare for the "worst case" scenario
if they press ahead with proposals to grow GM crops.

U.S.
halts elections throughout Iraq[just
like in the good ol' USA] Decision creates anger, resentment
among citizenry --U.S. military commanders
have ordered a halt to local elections and self-rule in provincial cities
and towns across Iraq, choosing instead to install their own
handpicked mayors and administrators, many of whom are former Iraqi
military leaders. [Is this what Bush calls bringing "Democracy"
to Iraq?]

U.S.
Death Toll in Iraq Passes 200
After days of intense searching by ground and air, U.S. forces on Saturday
found the bodies of two soldiers missing north of Baghdad, as the toll
of American dead since the start of war topped the grim milestone of
200.

U.S.
Soldier Killed, Four Hurt in Baghdad Attack
One U.S. soldier was killed and four others wounded in an attack in
Baghdad overnight, raising to 22 the number of Americans killed by hostile
fire in Iraq since the end of the war, officials said Saturday.

Two
U.S. Soldiers Found Dead North of BaghdadOne
Killed in Ambush Friday --News of missing GIs' fate comes amid rush
of guerrilla-style attacks that have marred U.S. efforts to establish
order in Iraq. The bodies of two U.S. soldiers missing for days were
discovered early Saturday northwest of Baghdad, as the toll rises
past 200 for Americans killed since war
started in Iraq. At least 61 U.S. troops have died since the official
end of fighting in Iraq - at least 23 of them in attacks.

Saddam
Hussein loyalists target rebuilders
Saddam Hussein loyalists in Iraq have begun to kill locals co-operating
with the U.S.-U.K. occupying forces in an escalation of their campaign
to block the rebuilding of the country.

US
troops kill Iraqi boy A
Gunman shot a US soldier in the neck as he browsed a Baghdad market
and American forces accidentally killed an 11-year-old boy, part of
a vicious cycle of Iraqi attacks and ever-tougher US crackdowns on resistance.
The past two days have seen a torrent of guerrilla-style ambushes
that have killed at least two US soldiers, with a third dying in a non-combat
accident yesterday.

Pentagon
Delays Releasing 5 Syrians Hurt in U.S. Raid
The Defense Department has delayed the release of five Syrian border
guards wounded last week in an American attack on an Iraqi convoy near
the Syrian border, American officials said today. This delay has come
despite objections from Syria, the U.S. State Department and even
American military officers on the ground.

Deeper
weapons probe is planned
Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee announced yesterday
plans to stage their own inquiry on the credibility of prewar
intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and its links to
the Al Qaeda terror network.

BBC
takes dossier fight to CampbellNews
chief defends coverage and claims No 10 intimidation --Extracts
of the letter from Richard Sambrook, director of BBC News, to Alastair
Campbell, director of communications at Downing Street "1. Allegations
of biased reporting... It is our firm view that No 10 tried to intimidate
the BBC in its reporting of events leading up to the war and during
the course of the war itself... 2. The February dossier... What
was by then clear was that your department had plagiarised an article
from the internet, based on an old university thesis, changed crucial
parts of it and then used it unattributed to strengthen the case for
Britain going to war..."

Sound
and fury over the BBCCampbell
hits back as corporation accuses him of vendetta --Downing Street
was last night embroiled in a full scale war with the BBC after the
corporation accused the No 10 communications chief, Alastair Campbell,
of intimidatory tactics and of pursuing a "personal vendetta" against
its defence correspondent.

Master
of spin storms studio to become the story
With the cameras rolling and the news bulletin barely minutes old, the
veteran Channel Four presenter Jon Snow heard an extraordinary piece
of information on his earpiece. "Alastair Campbell [Downing Street's
communications director] has entered the building," a producer told
Mr Snow. Within two minutes, a stern-faced Mr Campbell was facing Snow
across the studio for an unprecedented live interview which broke the
first rule of spin doctoring: never become the story.

The
BBC row has been got up to obscure the ugly truth
Intelligence can't hide the fact we went to war on a false pretext --by
Richard Norton-Taylor "We must not allow ourselves to be diverted
by Downing Street, and in particular by Alastair Campbell, the prime
minister's chief spin doctor, from extremely serious issues which go
to the very heart of how we are being ruled. Ministers are desperate
to reduce it all to a row about the BBC, its questioning of the reasons
for going to war in general and a report by its defence correspondent,
Andrew Gilligan, in particular."

Whoppers
of Mass Destruction --by
Matthew Norman "Responsibility for whoppers about Saddam's WMD
capability cannot lie with a propagandist posing as a civil servant,
however over- mighty, but with the elected leader who made them in the
Commons. The one who still refuses to testify himself. Every time things
go badly wrong, Tony Blair finds a scapegoat to sacrifice in his place...
If his religious beliefs are correct, Mr Blair will have to ask God's
mercy for his actions. But long before then, history - the thing he's
supposed to be obsessed with - will cast its judgment, and it will convict
him of being the smuggest moral coward ever to use blatant distortions
to send young people to their avoidable doom, and then refuse to face
the music."

Tikrit
believes Saddam Hussein is back
Saddam Hussein statues are smashed and his posters are whitewashed.
But people in his hometown of Tikrit are convinced the missing Iraqi
leader has returned to the gritty streets where he grew up.

Baghdad
boils during blackouts
Sabotage against Baghdad's power grids has blacked out much of the city
for days on end, forcing residents to sleep on roofs and study by
candlelight. The power outages are also fuelling anti-US sentiment
at a time when occupation forces are seeking to quell a worsening insurgency
that has seen a sharp rise in attacks on US troops.

US
proposes world peacekeeping force
Rumsfeld floats proposal to end Bush doctrine of unilateralism --The
US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, is discussing the idea of an
international peacekeeping force which could be dispatched to maintain
order in the world's trouble spots.

Protesters
call for Bush impeachment
About 1,000 demonstrators shouting for Dictator George W. Bush's impeachment
gathered outside a hotel in Los Angeles where Bush was helping raise
$3.6 million for his re-s-election
campaign. The protesters accused Bush of lying about the presence
of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a central justification
for the US-British invasion of Iraq in March. To date no such weapons
have been found in the country.

San
Francisco Drops Charges Against Most War Protesters
The district attorney's office today dismissed infractions against 407
people arrested in March in antiwar protests here and also indicated
that it would not pursue charges against all but about 20 of the others
who were arrested.

Key
Lawyer Differs on U.S. Terrorism Trial Rules
The Air Force officer named as chief defense counsel for terrorism suspects
tried by U.S. military commissions says he disagrees with some rules
set by the Pentagon, including the government's ability to monitor all
conversations between defendants and their lawyers.

GOP
Victory Jitters Democratic
pollster Stan Greenberg said he had a detected a fairly significant
change in the last month in the way Americans feel about the war and
the direction of foreign policy... Foreign policy may have become Dictator
Bush's weakest suit.

'Soft'
funds helped fuel House Flip
DeLay, business group defend contributions; jury inquiry proceeds --For
the first time in state politics, large amounts of corporate contributions
made their way into political races during 2002, helping cement a GOP
takeover of the Texas House, state and federal records show
[similar to the GOP takeover of the 2000 national election].

Toward
One-Party Rule --by Paul
Krugman "...campaign finance is only the tip of the iceberg. Next
year, George W. Bush will spend two or three times as much money as
his opponent; but he will also benefit hugely from the indirect support
that corporate interests — very much including media companies — will
provide for his political message. Naturally, Republican politicians
deny the existence of their burgeoning machine."

Rain
Forest Is Losing Ground Faster in Amazon, Photos Show
Newly released satellite images show that the Amazon rain forest is
disappearing at an increasing rate, with about 10,000 square miles lost
mainly to pasture land, soybean plantations and illegal logging in the
12-month period that ended last August.

Gun
whips up a Metal Storm
(Australia) Imagine a gun that fires a million rounds a minute
-- enough to shred a target in a blink of an eye, or throw up a defensive
wall against an incoming missile. This is Metal Storm, a weapons system
that forsakes old-style mechanics for the speed of electronics...